Pacifica Pines
by HowAboutThat
Summary: When enough is enough Pacifica willingly gets herself disowned and ends up in a junkyard with a weird old man then a home-turned-tourist-trap with her ex-frenemy and her family and not to mention the supernatural occurrences that she has to survive because her new family seems attract them. [Including: Stans][Warning: Abuse mentioned/used at first, Violence, and Death]
1. Chapter 1

HAT: Yes, yes, I know! _Another_ fanfiction, but this one was just nagging at me for the longest (aka for about a day or two) and inspiration hit me _hard_ on this one. Also, I've made some minor changes to this story... though major ones in the fourth chapter so... yeah! So, I hope that you enjoy it and review it!

(EDITS: 6/20)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls or the characters... juuuuust the plot... and OCs I guess (not James, I just gave the butler a name, Margaret I do own).**

* * *

Pacifica Northwest lies on the ground in her room with tears silently streaming down her face and bruises and welts covering her body and a cut on her forehead that is still bleeding and staining her blond hair and covering her face. She feels that she deserves this punishment.

The first rule that her parents had taught her was to obey and honor her parents' at all times so that's what she'd strove to do since she was young. When she was doing something wrong the bell was her signal to correct her behavior and she adjusted herself accordingly. When her parents had told her to not associate herself with the poor people or servants in the house she did just that and hung out with rich girls that were just as shallow as she was trying to be for them. It didn't work, but she learned to act like it- maybe a little too well because no one saw her as a girl in need or a girl that was just putting up a front- though one person saw a bit of that broken girl.

She pushes herself up despite the pain in her body when she hears the bell beckoning her. She has no time to clean herself up save for wiping away the tears and smudging the blood on her face. She walks with her hands clasped behind her back and head bowed so that she won't have to look at the servants- workers- as she passes them. She would prefer to skip seeing her parents completely, but she can't do that now. There is no one here to defend anymore, no crisis that she can justify her actions- though obviously that hadn't worked out very well.

The door to her father's office is already open and so she enters without looking at them.

"Do you know why we punished you?" Her father demands.

"B-because I disobeyed and shamed you," she answers, something she had used to say a lot when she was younger.

Her mother stays silent while her father narrows his eyes and speaks forcefully. " _And?_ "

Pacifica grits her teeth and manages to say, "You only want what's best for me," without letting too much of her self-loathing and discomfort show.

"Good. Are you going to interact with those townsfolk ever again?"

"No."

"Are you going to disobey us?"

"No."

"Now get out of my sight and do something with yourself. You look terrible."

She quickly turns and flees form her father's office and is so distracted that she runs into someone and ends up on her rear. "I-I'm sorry!"

It's their butler- James, she thinks- and he seems to be looking at her with pity filled dark eyes.

"Ms. Pacifica you are not the one at fault," he assures with his prim and proper British accent, observing her state of being for a moment before crouching down and holding out his hand to help her up. "Come with me. I'll have Margaret clean you up."

"Thank you," she murmurs as she takes his hand.

He leads her to where the maid named Margaret- a dark skinned woman with slicked back black hair in a puffy bun and light brown eyes- is cleaning the dining room and when she looks up at the state the young mistress is in she covers her mouth and tears start to make her eyes shine and gasp "you poor thing" or something along those lines. Pacifica wonders what she's ever done to gain these people's sympathy when all she'd ever done was mistreat them and act as if they were objects that can be easily replaced. Maybe they _did_ see her for what she was.

"Will you please clean Ms. Pacifica and tend to her injuries?" James asks.

"Of course," Margaret assures, moving forward and gently taking Pacifica's hand. "Come on, sweetie."

Over the next several minutes she's taken care of by Margaret. Soon enough Pacifica is in her pajamas and sitting on her bed while her head is bandaged- they had run out of bandaids. Margaret briefly mutters darkly about how her parents should be put in jail, but before Pacifica could question it there is a knock on the door.

"It's James."

"Come in," Pacifica calls.

James opens the door and enters with a tray and places it in front of her. "Eat."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to eat while on punishment," she murmurs.

He frowns and kneels in front of her so that he's eye level with her. "You did a brave thing in allowing the townspeople into the mansion and you deserve to be happy. You shouldn't have to live with this anymore."

She lowers her gaze to her lap. "I don't know what to do..."

James lifts her head gently and smiles. "Do what you feel is right... Be brave once again."

"How?"

"You'll find a way. Eat and think," he orders gently before standing and walking out of the room.

Margaret stays with her until she's done eating and then takes the tray away to go wash the dishes.

Pacifica is now alone with her thoughts and she now wonders what she can do to be brave like James had said. She doesn't want to be in this home- no- mansion anymore. It holds no warmth save for the rare moments when she interacts with the workers in a nice way and even then the impending doom of her parents finding out was something that caused her to be jittery and unable to feel truly at him. She actually never felt at home anywhere, now that she thinks about it.

 _But how do I get out of here?_

* * *

HAT: Yep, this is the start of it. I have a couple of more chapters written, but those will come at intervals.

Pacifica: Just know that none of this would ever happen.

HAT: Suuuure.

Pacifica: *looks at a paper and then raises an eyebrow* Why is Old Man McGucket on this list of primary people I interact with? I kinda get Mabel and her family, but not him.

HAT: Oh... you'll find out later.

Pacifica: *shivers* Ew. That gross old man who lives in the junkyard? Puh-lease. I would never interact with him.

HAT: Well this is _my_ story and you do what I say- er... write. Now, please say it?

Pacifica: *rolls eyes and scoffs* Whatever... review.


	2. Chapter 2

HAT: There was a bit of an error so I'm putting the actual second chapter in place and the third chapter's gonna be after this so now you know how she ended up at McGucket's... enjoy!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything... well, except the plot and OC.**

* * *

After taking about two days to think over what she can do she has come to a decision. She doesn't have to stay in this place any longer if this works, though she'll have to find someone that would be willing to help her- though that'd probably be difficult since she's treated everyone like dirt since before she can even remember. Moments of kindness would bud now and then, but overall she was terrible to everyone that she came across.

 _Be brave_. James' encouragement was enough to push to get the plan together and to put it into action.

 _What'll I need? Extra clothes, maybe a few expensive dresses to sell for money... some of the money from my piggy bank... Sammy... flashlight? Food's a good idea, too. I think this is good_ , she thinks as she stuffs items into her backpack, using a technique that Margaret had shown her when Pacifica told her a little of her plan. She rolls up her clothes and stacks them neatly inside and even puts in a blanket this way along with her flashlight and teddy bear, Sammy, and she places the money in the front pocket of the backpack. _Alright, I think I'm ready... wearing jeans and tennis shoes and my hoodie's in my backpack... Just gotta do it now._

She takes a deep breath and pokes her head out to see if the coast is clear. She sneaks through her house and goes out and hides the backpack in a secret compartment that she found when she was five and used to hide things that she liked that her parents hadn't approved of.

She goes back inside and glances around her as she walks. If she wants to leave she'll have to directly defy her parents as she did that night, but this time the results will end with something she'd once feared, but now looks forward to...kind of.

"Pacifica? What're you doing out of your room?" Her mother demands, her eyes narrowing.

 _This is is_ , she thinks with a gulp and steels herself. "I-I'm not gonna do what you want anymore... I'm... I'm gonna be nice to people and spend time with the townsfolk and I'm gonna wear _comfortable_ clothes from now on."

Her father narrows his eyes. "What did you say, young lady?"

"Y-you heard me!"

"Pacifica Elis Northwest, you _will_ obey us," he says as he pulls out the bell and shakes it.

It takes everything in her to disobey the orders of her parents, but she manages to- literally- put her foot down. "No!"

The silence that blankets the air around them makes her heartbeat easier to hear in her hears and she begins to tremble when she notices his grip on the bell tighten. Before she knows it she's on the ground and the sound of the bell is erratic as it slams into her over and over again. She tries her best not to sob, but a few slip out as she tries to defend herself against her father. She's vaguely aware of her mother trying her best to drag him off of her, but she's so far gone that she is not positive that this has happened.

"Get out. You are no longer a Northwest-"

"Preston-"

"Silence! I will hear nothing of it! Get out of this house," her father orders.

Pacifica pushes herself to stand despite how much her body hurts. To put new wounds on top of the once that haven't even healed yet was something that she had wanted to avoid, but there was no avoiding it. Still, despite this she manages to walk out of the mansion and through the gates. She grabs her backpack and stuffs the precious things that are inside the compartment into the backpack before walking in a random direction. The Northwest Mansion is a bit farther out so she has to trek through the woods for a while before she gets to town.

 _Keep going, you've gotta get to some sort of civilization before you pass out,_ she tells herself after fifteen minutes of trekking through the woods.

She's just glad that she is wearing decent clothing. Before she knows it she has to pull out her jacket and pull it on to keep some heat inside of her body. She doesn't know why her body feels this cold when it's summer vacation, but it does and it makes her worry a little about herself.

It could have been anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours before she makes it to the junkyard. She recalls hearing that Old Man McGucket lives here, but she doesn't have the strength to go on so she sits near the entrance and promises herself to keep moving after she gets a bit of rest.

She closes her eyes and is soon unconscious against the fence.

* * *

Stanley: *stands there with an arm folded across his chest and a hand on his chin as he stares at the story* ... beaten... with a bell... why?

HAT: Why not?

Stanley: I'm seriously considering taking you to a professional to get checked out.

HAT: What about McGucket?! And pretty much everyone else in Gravity Falls?!

Stanley: ... fair point.

HAT: Now, Stanley, would you please say it for me?

Stanley: HAT is insane.

HAT: NO! What your contract says to say!... and I'm only crazy, not insane.

Stanley: *rolls eyes* Review everyone.


	3. Chapter 3

HAT: -_- I hate computers sometimes...

 **Disclaimer: You know what I do and do not own. I do own the plot and OC I threw in. I do not own Gravity Falls or its characters.**

* * *

Pacifica cracks open her eyes and finds herself in a ratty looking room and she notices Old Man McGucket (because it could be no one else) making something on the stove. She sits up- or at least tries. Her head swims and she ends up on her back once again and letting out a pitiful moan.

McGucket turns and rushes over with a glass of water- clear, clean water she's surprised to say- and helps support her. "Here, drink this."

As soon as she starts drinking the water she finds herself downing one-third of the glass despite herself and McGucket has to move the cup to get her to stop drinking the water. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until that moment. She _needed_ more.

"More, please," she begs.

"Sorreh, darlin', but ah reckon that wouldn't be a good idea," he says, a surprising amount of sanity leaking through. "Ah'll give ya some more later. Fer now it's chaow time!"

He puts some sort of stew into a chipped bowl and places a spoon in it and hands it over to her. She's been used to eating nothing, but the best of things, but after not eating for a day and a half she's ready to eat just about anything. She tries to sit up again, but fails to do so so McGucket places the bowl on the makeshift table beside the couch and adjusts the pillows to have her sit up before he starts feeding her. She's astonished at the amount of care that he takes to make sure she gets ever morsel of food into her system and that the food was actually better than half of the things that she was forced to eat while residing with her parents.

"Thank you," she whispers meekly.

"Saw ya outside the 'yard last night an' ah couldn't leave ya stranded out there. Hope ya don't mind, but ah patched up yer arms and legs and head. Ah ended up havin' ta put bandages over yer shirt, but ah think it'll be fine fer a little while," he says, as if informing her of all of this just to assure her that she will be alright.

"Y-you didn't have to do all of that," she murmurs, not bothering to look at him because of the shame she felt. She'd treated him terribly as well, though that was mostly brought on by fear of his wild antics and behavior. "I mean... after the way I treated you... you have every right to leave me for dead."

He seems to take a moment to _really_ contemplate that. "Well... Ah reckon that's how yer folks and all them rich folk see it, but... sometimes the right thing to do is to help someone that's trespassed against ya. 'Sides, ya look like ya got dragged 'round a rodeo bah a bunch of hornswagglers. It ain't no good ta leave a kid out on the streets- 'specially a young lady."

When one got past the weird way his voice sounds and the general weirdness of him there's a smart man in there with morals and values- more than any Northwest has had. Pacifica doesn't know why she didn't see this before, but she silently promises not to be the shallow Northwest she's been taught to be.

"You have no idea how much this means to me," she admits, a watery smile forming as tears fill her eyes.

He seems to panic, not quite used to a crying female. "N-n-naow, don't... don't cry on me."

She wipes away the tears and chuckles. "S-sorry."

McGucket grabs a handkerchief- one that looks old and worn, but clean- and she takes it and cleans her face. "Now, little lady... how'd ya end up all the way out here in the middle o' the night with so many bruises 'n cuts?"

"I..." She swallows and lowers her gaze. "I got disowned today..."

He stays silent for a while before he manages to say, "Ah'm sorry ta hear that... hows about you stay here for a lil' while?"

"I'd like that... thank you."

He adjusts her pillows so she's lying down again and gently tucks her in- something that she suspects he's done before since he has had a kid- and blows out the lamp. "Give me a shout if ya need anything. An' if ya see a raccoon don' worry, it's just ma raccoon-wife."

"Duly noted," she replies, more than a little taken aback about that last statement.

He leaves her to her own devices and she smiles slightly at the kindness of this man. She knows not everyone is going to be like this, but she's grateful for him being there to help her in her time of need. She has no idea how she will repay him since she has no money, but she promises herself to find a way no matter what as she drifts off once again.

* * *

HAT: Let me know if I should stop on McGucket's accent (and all accents) for... well, ever.

Dipper: Something's wrong with you.

HAT: There's something wrong with everyone.

Dipper: *raises skeptical eyebrow* Everyone?

HAT: There are a lot of people that laugh at people who get hurt over their own stupidity and other things that shouldn't be laughed at.

Dipper: ... I'll give you that.

HAT: Anyway, take it away!

Dipper: Um... *waves nervously* Review, everyone. *elbowed by HAT* Oh- um... please?


	4. Chapter 4

HAT: Yay! Another chapter! This one's longer than the rest. I had a good number of chapters written out... then I trashed it and rewrote everything after chapter 3 and started to write an _actual_ plot in one of my spirals so _now_ I have a decent idea _where_ I'm going with this story... why do I even bother none of you even _read_ what _I_ have to say before the story and some of you only after... *sighs* Enjoy the story. *emo corner*

 **Disclaimer: Gravity Falls and its characters belongs to Alex Hirsch while this plot and my OC (and others if I choose to throw them in there) belong to me.**

* * *

It was difficult adjusting to living at the junkyard. She'd gone form this clean, large home where food was easy to come by to a cramped living environment where she shares the space with a weird old man and a raccoon. At first she refused to touch anything and eyed what she was eating a drinking and would deny the food, but after two weeks of practically starving from eating so little she learned to eat what she could. After about a week he had begun to guilt her into eating by saying with a stern, fatherly look that doesn't look quite right on his face, "yer bein' ungrateful" and it's worked to the point all he has to do is give her that look. Along with this there were other things he did to correct her behavior when she started behaving like the Northwest and what he said most often was, "yer bein' a brat" and she would correct herself immediately. He also scolded her near constantly over walking around barefoot in the junkyard because there was glass and when she argued that he did he replied that he had callouses on his feet and had been doing it for decades, but that didm't detour her from doing this.

She's taken wearing her most comfortable clothes which consists of sweats and an older purple t-shirt or pink or one grey one and a purple bandana to keep her hair out of her face. McGucket taught her how to hand wash her clothes since she has a limited amount and she changes her clothes every few days, but her underwear every day (for health reasons). She doesn't know how long she's been in the junkyard anymore. All she knows is that it's been over a month- she stopped counting at five and a half weeks and who knows how much time has passed since then. For all she knows the school year just started- that'd mean she was out there for about two and a half months- but she doesn't really care.

(A/N: Alright, so the longest most schools will allow summer vacation is about 14 weeks with is about 3 1/2 months (keep in mind there are 4 weeks in 1 month) and about the time the Northwest Mansion part came along they were about half-way through the summer which then makes their stay there about 1 1/4 months which leaves 2 3/4 months for her to have lived on the streets if she's gonna be put back in school on time and- let's face it- about 3 months is a long time... alright, I'm done.)

Currently she's fighting one of McGucket's raccoons for her meal... again.

"Let go! It's mine!" She grunts as she tries to yank her bread form the grasp of the small and determined creature. This bout of tug-of-war lasts for several more seconds before she kicks the raccoon and clutches the bread to her chest. "Ha! Take that you oversized rat!"

The raccoon doesn't seem to like that and runs forward with claws ready to scratch her. She gets up and runs the opposite direction, shoving the bread into her mouth and chewing as she goes and breathing heavily through her nose. She crosses off climbing things because raccoons are faster and more experienced with that so her only choice is to outrun it until she manages to swallow the bread.

 _How did my life get to running from a raccoon to keep my food?_ She wonders as she rounds another junk pile. Despite this thought she doesn't dare go back to _that_ night and- instead- continues to run and chew. When she swallows the last of her food and skids to a stop and realizes that she's ventured outside of the junkyard and is in a nearby alley. _Great. The stupid raccoon chased me all the way out here._

She pats her bandana down and stuffs a hand in her pants pockets as she tries to casually make her way back to the junkyard without being noticed. She wants to look like any other pedestrian on the street so she walks casually, glancing around to see if her to see if there is anyone that can recognize her. As soon as she's sure that she isn't being watched she ducks down into the hole in the fence and immediately runs deeper into the junkyard.

About halfway to the shelter she hears Old Man McGucket nearby and follows the noises to her somewhat guardian and finds him talking to his raccoon wife. Pacifica can't help the small smile of fondness that makes its way into her features. She doesn't know why she ever thought bad about this man when he's so intelligent and caring. She'd much rather had been raised by him than by her parents- the people who gave her their genes.

"Hey, McGucket," she calls as she walks over.

He frowns at her feet. "Ya know, you should really wear some shoes 'round here. There's glass everywhere."

She resists the urge to roll her eyes good-naturedly and instead crouches down beside him and pets the raccoon. "What're you two arguing about this time?"

The old man frowns and crosses his arms. "She refuses to put on that pretty bow that I got fer her an' now she's throwin' a hissy fit!"

"I think you're going about it all wrong," she says, picking up the raccoon and holding her hand out for the bow. "May I?"

"Sure."

Once she has the item in her hand she gently uses one arm to tie it around the animal's neck (loose enough that she won't choke, but tight enough it won't fall off easily) while she coos at her in hopes of keeping the cute, clawed animal calm. "Aaaand... there. Aren't you pretty?"

"Thank ya, P'cifica," he says with a grin and holds his arms out for his "wife."

She hands over the raccoon and- for about the billionth time- does everything in her power not to delve into the thoughts about what he means by "wife" and what that entails for the raccoon (A/N: I just realized that they're somewhat implying bestiality... You know what? McGucket's just gave the raccoon that title since that's the raccoon around most and it "nags" him all the time "like a normal" wife just to save my sanity and (maybe if it hasn't been lost already) yours).

He turns to go to where the tub is so she guesses that he's going to give her a bath- which is a good thing because she stinks to high heaven.

 _What to do? I already ran from a raccoon- I think it was Dan... or maybe Chris?- for lunch and helped McGucket with his wife... Now what to do? Perhaps go watch people from the top of one of the junk piles? No, did that yesterday... Oh, maybe play with the piano? Yeah, that sounds fun!_

She rushes to the piano that she found on her third day here. It's legs are broken and the top's torn off, but it's still in good condition. She had pressed each and every key and adjusted it and fixed it as best as she could over the next several days until she was satisfied, but she hadn't actually _played_ anything on it yet. Today feels like a good day to do it so I kneel in front of it and hit one key to get a good idea where the rest are. Kind of like brushing your fingers against the "F" and J" keys to be sure where you are on the keyboard.

 _Let's see how I can do,_ she thinks and then begins to play (A/N: I can be anything you want, but in my mind it's _River Flows In You_ by Yiruma (despite how complicated it probably is)).

Her fingers fly across the keys with a precision that she can't believe that she still has after not practicing for so long. She can't help but smile as she plays- a simple joy that her parents had ripped away from her after about two years of lessons and practice- and feels her insides writhe with happiness.

When she presses the last key she feels calm and at peace, but it's disrupted when she hears clapping and she whirls around, startled, to see McGucket standing there with his raccoon wife nibbling on some food next to him.

"That there was the best playin' I've ever heard!"

She blushes and rubs the back of her neck. "Really?"

"Course I'm sure! I never heard of ya play b'fore," he says, a flash of intelligence in his eyes that seeps out past the madness.

"My parents didn't approve so they had me quit, but I always loved to play anyway... the stopped a lot of fun things," she murmurs, staring at the yellowed keys as she remembers everything that had something positive for her was ripped away from her. "Probably because it allowed me a bit of freedom and independence..."

There are a few more seconds that seem to take forever before McGucket awkwardly tries to break it. "Ahhh... hows about I rustle us up some grub?"

Pacfica smiles "Sure. "

"Wanna help? I'm thinkin' we could find us a hotdog cart and take somethin' from there."

"I don't see why not. Let's go!" She says excitedly, getting up and dusting her knees off and following him out of the junkyard.

They make it a few blocks before ducking into an alley after finding a hotdog cart.

 _How long has it been since I've had hotdogs?_ She wonders, but discards that thought immediately and tries not to jump out and steal the entire cart when the wind shifts and the smell hits her.

"Alright, what I'm thinkin' is I'll distract the man and you take as many hotdogs as you can carry and take them back to the junkyard. Got that?"

"Yes, sir," she says with a firm nod.

"Wait here while I go distract him."

"Okay," she murmurs and crouches down behind the wall and watching as he walks out and wonders what he'll do.

"Distraction!" he shouts as he shoves the hotdog vendor, making her shoulders slump at the anticlimactic display.

Surprisingly it works because the man chases McGucket.

 _This is my chance!_ She thinks and rushes over with her bandana ripped off to allow her to carry more hotdogs. She puts a few in buns and when she hears the chase making its way full circle she grabs a few more with haste and throws them into her bandana and makes a break for it. She ducks into a few alleys that have no dead ends and makes her way to the junkyard with haste, but makes sure that she doesn't drop any hotdogs. When she finally stops she's in the middle of the junkyard panting and hunched over her prize. _That was fun._

She goes into the shelter where the raccoons will be less likely to sniff out the meat and leaves a few out for them to get. After she's done setting up the table she hears McGucket come in and turns to see a few bruises forming on him- probably from getting hit by a broom.

"Are you okay, McGucket?" Pacifica asks as she goes over to check on him.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. How much- holy crackermole! You got that much?" (A/N: ... Don't judge me for "crackermole")

She glances at the table and sees one of the slightly larger bowls filled with hot dogs and the smaller bowl next to it filled with hardening hotdog buns. "Yes."

"What'd you do?"

"I used my bandana," she answers, holding it up. "I'll wash it later, for now let's eat."

They say their grace- something that McGucket insisted they do and Pacifica found calming- and eat, McGucket telling her of a contraption that he built a while back. She smiles at his story and laughs at a few parts. She's _grateful_ to this man. He could have left her for dead and instead took her in and showed her kindness he'd never showed him in the past. It's something that she's determined to do as well in the future because she wants to be like this man- intelligent, kind-hearted, and crazy enough to find fun in everything and never get bored- or at least be able to find something creative to do whenever boredom hits.

"You go ta bed while I clean up," McGucket says at the end of the meal.

"But-" Pacifica stutters to a stop when he gives her a stern, fatherly look that says that he won't hear anything she has to say- something that she hadn't thought his face was capable of. "Goodnight."

"G'night," he replies as he walks out with the dishes to get washed.

(A/N: Everything has to stop right now! _Because I Love You_ by Lenny Williams came on. *Hiatus*... *7 Mins. Later* Okay, continuing with the story (Literally... I stopped a full 7 minutes _just_ for that song... _that is an_ amazing song!))

She splays herself out on the couch and looks up at the stars as they twinkle. She's never before felt so at ease and carefree as she does here in the junkyard with McGucket. _I wish that I could have this moment for life._

* * *

HAT: This is basically showing how life in the junkyard is going for her. Seems to be going well.

Preston: My daughter would _never_ live in a junkyard!

HAT: Can it Northwest! You're not even liked!

Preston: *stutters* I have you know I'm very loved. All of my fans please clap your hands politely!

*silence*

HAT: Uh-huh... That's a _lot_ of fans... are you gonna say it or aren't you.

Preston: *turns red* None of you review this abomination of a story! *storms out like a child*

HAT: *sighs* Well... he's a nut case... probably went to his nanny or something. For those of you that don't like him (or have no care for him... or both) DEFY HIM!... *pouts* He called my story an abomination... *goes to emo corner and wonders if the story's an abomination*


	5. Chapter 5

HAT: I think I finally have things straight... *crosses fingers* Also, this story- in my docs- is currently over 11,000 words and- I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing- it's not even close to being finished. 1/3 complete at most I'd say. Welp, enough of me babbling, moving onto the disclaimer!

 **Disclaimer: I own everythiiiiii~ *glared at by Alex Hirsch* I- uh *clears throat*own everything that isn't Gravity Falls and its characters... Um... enjoy!**

* * *

Pacifica stretches as she wakes up and lets out a long, but quiet yawn. When she relaxes she glances around the shelter and listens for McGucket inside or outside, but can't hear him. She figures he's out smuggling food so she gets up and grabs her bandana to go wash it in the bin. The only things that _really_ suck about life in the junkyard is that- despite how McGucket's tried- there's no indoor plumbing. The only thing that he's managed to get working without backfiring is the stove that he used on her first night there and even then he usually uses a fire to do something so that the stove can last as long as possible.

The _best_ thing about living out in the junkyard- away from judgmental eyes- is that she doesn't have to change as often (she has to change her underwear for health reasons, but otherwise she doesn't have to) so she can wear the same outfit for three days in a row (granted she she washes them after she changes outfits) so rolling out of bed and getting started with her day is something that she _can_ do.

She glances around and doesn't see any food set out for her and shrugs it off. There's no promise of food despite how McGucket tries to keep her stomach full. She notices the look on his face whenever she goes to bed without having eaten at least one good meal. It doesn't happen every day, but there have been a few days in which this has happened. He looks completely and utterly _ashamed_ that he couldn't put food in her stomach and a little angry at himself for not being able to provide for the girl in his care. She doesn't complain, but she's sure that some of her internal disappointment at not eating shows on her face and causes him grief, but she tries to keep it inside so that he won't kick himself.

The blond shakes this from her mind and exits the shelter to find her kind-of-guardian. She finds that if she's ever bored that McGucket has the answer. It could either be going on a mini-adventure- like the one where they stole hotdogs- or a toy that he's managed to repair or make.

"Hey, McGucket, whatcha doin'?" (A/N: I couldn't help it. Isabella came into my mind and I couldn't resist)

McGucket looks up from his work. "Hey, P'cifica! Nothin' much, I'm just buildin' a contraption that'll set some things on fire."

At first she's confused on why he would build a contraption like this, but she vaguely remembers him being behind a few other large and destructive contraptions, but there was a reason that he built them that she couldn't quite remember. It's important, but she's not one hundred percent sure what it is.

"Why?"

"Well, some people deserve a bit of punishment," he replies vaguely.

 _He makes things when someone hurts him,_ she suddenly remembers, her mind flying to the more recent incident a few weeks ago that she forgot about when he made a giant gopher to sink someone's home- though for the life of her she can't remember.

"Who hurt you?"

He goes quiet for a moment before he finally says, "It wasn't me that was hurt."

She blinks in confusion. "Who was hurt?" He doesn't reply to her. "McGucket, answer me... please?"

"Now, darlin', ya shouldn't worry yerself," he says, patting her head with his free hand.

And suddenly it hits her like a bag of bricks. "It was me... You're going after them."

He stays quiet and stares at the contraption. She wonders how long he'd let it fester inside of him before he finally cracked and started to make this- probably a dragon from the formulating shape that she can see and the mention of fire from McGucket's earlier statement- to get back at the Northwests for what they did to her.

"You can't do that," she groans, sitting back on her haunches. "I know that they're terrible people, but you can't just attack them because of what they did."

"But-"

"Sometimes the right thing to do is to forgive those who trespassed against us," she says, using one of his many quotes against him.

He scowls for a moment before he smiles a little. "Good ta know that ya listen to me."

She smiles. "Of course I do."

"Ah'll tear apart the contraption. Fer now you need ta get somethin' on yer feet."

"Okay. Have fun," she says as she gives him a hug.

"Oh, ah'll try."

She has to admit that living with McGucket- though strange- wasn't all that bad. He cared about her well-being instead of how she looked and instead of constantly nagging her over superficial things he'd scold her lightly on things that she should be doing like not gulping down an entire glass of water at once or walking barefoot or other such things.

She occupies the rest of her day with people watching and playing with some of the younger raccoons that actually _like_ to play games with her. She even peeks in on the baby raccoons that were brought into the world a day or two after her being in the junkyard- they're adorable.

Hours later she enters the shelter and sees the raccoon nibbling on some bread left out for her. "Hey, there."

The raccoon barely gives her acknowledgement so she plops down on the couch and runs a hand through her hair. It's tangled, but not so much that it looks like a bird's nest, but it's annoying because it keeps getting into her face- she should've washed her bandana, but she keeps forgetting. She glances around for anything useful and finds a rubber band on a table next to a rubber band sculpture of the Eiffel Tower.

"McGucket?!" She calls, walking towards the door only to jump back when he pokes his head in unexpectedly.

"Yes?"

"Can I use a rubber band to tie my hair back?"

"Sure," he says before looking at his raccoon wife. "Yer s'ppose ta share with P'cifica!"

Again the raccoon barely acknowledges the presence of the humans and continues to eat. Pacifica giggles and grabs one of the rubber bands and ties her hair back, listening and watching McGucket fight with his "wife" over the bread. As she settles down at the table for dinner which consists of bread and fruit McGucket found out in the forest she wonders what it's like outside of the junkyard and if anyone misses her at all. Her friends probably didn't and had probably fought to see who would be the leader and the rest of the townsfolk probably didn't care.

 _Maybe James and Margaret miss me,_ she thinks, but quickly discards that thought and digs into her meal. She sometimes thinks about the two that helped her to begin with, but she doesn't think that they had enough fondness for her to actually _miss_ her. Sure, they pitied her for her situation and helped her get away because she was a _kid_ , but surely they hadn't had any _attachment_ to her enough to make them actually worry about her.

Suddenly there's an unnatural silence that breaks her from this train of thought and she glances up to see McGucket had stopped babbling to his raccoon wife and is staring at her with a conflicted look on his face. It seems he wants to tell her something, but at the same time wants to hold it back.

"Yes?" She asks.

He clears his throat and lowers his gaze to his food for a moment before sighing and looking back up at her. "Listen, sweetheart... much fun as it is ta have ya 'round fer company... Ah think it's 'bout time ya moseyed on outta here. Junkyard's not 'xactly a kid friendly 'nvior'ment. So ah talked ta a couplah friendsah mahn and they said they'd be willin' ta take cayerah ya."

Pacifica feels something in her chest that hurts and tries to stay calm so as not completely blow this out of the water as she would have before. "So... you don't want me around anymore?"

McGucket seems to sense her negative emotions and thought process because he shakes his head quickly. "No, tha's not it. It's just... ah don' think that ah'm the best one ta take cayerah ya. Ya've gotta get 'n edjacation an' live in a safe 'nvior'ment where ya ken have a real meal. 'S'not healthy ta eat as little as you've been eatin' recently. Ah only want what's best for ya, darlin' an' that's in an actual house with folks that ken adopt ya an' put ya in school an' help ya get inta college so ya ken get a good job and have a good life... you understand?"

She nods, feeling tear start to well in her eyes. "I just... I like it around here and I'd miss it."

"But ya ken come down an' see me any time ya want," he quickly says. "All ya gotta do is make sure ya guardiens know where ya are."

After a few minutes of contemplation she nods. "O-okay, I can live with that... when do I go live with these people?"

"In tha mornin' sometime," he answers before looking down at her plate and pushing his plate over to her. "Here, have that."

"But-"

"Ah _want_ ya ta have it," he says. When the raccoon tries to reach for the food he bats her away. "Get! Always tryin' ta take P'cifica's food."

She giggles and eats the food that's given to her and gives him a hug before she curls up on the couch and falls asleep. Old Man McGucket isn't all that bad. In fact, he was one of the best people she's ever had in her life and she's eternally grateful that he's in her life to keep her grounded and to actually care. She is vaguely aware of him tucking her in as she drifts off and smiles at his kindness.

 _Not bad at all_.

* * *

Gideon: *smiles cutely* HAT fell into a black hole since the beginning of this story... *mutters irritably* again... *smiles brightly again* So I'm here to tell y'all to review this story for her.

Stanford: Gideon! Are you done?! We kinda need help getting her outta this black hole!

Gideon: *sighs* Yeah! Which one is it?

Stanford: The salsa one.

Gideon: I've got the sumo wrestler and the matches.

Stanford: Mabel! Dipper! You two get the baby blanket and the remote! I'll try and make sure that HAT doesn't get killed in the- SOOS! *face palms* Make sure that HAT _and_ Soos don't get killed in there.

HAT: HELP!


	6. Chapter 6

HAT: I decided to give you another chapter because I felt generous- after all, my niece was born today! *squeals happily* I'm _so_ happy right now! Also, I've edited the story a little bit. I don't know if one through three would be important, but you can look if you want... I'M AN AUNTIE (again, but still)!

First edit of the Stans: Aug 14, 2015... this is gonna be a long week.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls or its characters, they belong to Alex Hirsch and Disney.**

* * *

"Time ta wake up, P'cifica."

Pacifica cracks open her eyes and finds Old Man McGucket standing there with one hand on her shoulder gently shaking her. "Already?"

He smiles sadly. "Yes, already. Le's go 'fore they think ah took ya off on some kinda adventure."

She pulls on her shoes and her jacket before throwing her backpack on and following McGucket. At first she thinks they're going to one of the people in the city, but when they walk past it she wonders where they're going. She hasn't gone around Gravity Falls all that much aside from her little adventures with McGucket and before that she was mostly at the mall or at home or with her "friends" or where city events were happening that she was forced to go to with her parents so she is basically lost and has no idea where she is which is why she stays as close to the old man as she can to make sure that she _won't_ get lost.

"We're almost there, don'tchu worry," McGucket assures.

She _had_ been glancing at the angle of the sun for the past ten minutes or so to keep track of the time.

About twenty minutes later the two enter a clearing where a large building with a sign that says "The Mystery Shack" with the "S" in "Shack" resting on the roof. She sees a familiar car that's red with lighter red flames and immediately comes to the realization that McGucket has set her up with the Pines family.

She stutters to a stop and McGucket is halfway to through the clearing before he notices that she isn't beside him anymore.

"C'mon, P'cifica," he urges.

"D-do they know it's _me_ that they're taking in?"

"Whaddoya mean?"

"I mean... I treated them just as terribly as I did you and they kinda... hate me- ya know?"

He sighs. "Just give 'em a chance. They're willin' ta give you one."

She shifts through all the bad things that she's done to these people and then looks at him. His eyes will her to at least try and if he has that much faith in them than she supposes that she can give living with this family a try.

"Okay," she murmurs and walks over to him.

He puts a protective and reassuring hand on her shoulder and leads her to the door. He knocks on the door a few times then waits a few moments before frowning and knocking again, murmuring something along the lines of "lazy boned old men" as he does so.

"Alright, I'm coming! Gimme a sec!" A rough voice calls. The door opens to reveal Stanford Pines in his casual attire which consists of a wife beater and his boxers (shorts? (A/N: I could never figure out what they were)). He looks down at the girl first and then to McGucket. "Pacifica?"

Pacifica shoots McGucket a confused glance, but says nothing as he explains.

"P'cifica here got disowned a while ago and needs a home- a good one," McGucket says, looking up at the taller man with pleading eyes. "Please, Stan? She's got nowhere else ta go an' ah cain't take cayerah her the right way livin' in a junkyard."

"I thought she was shipped off to boarding school three months ago," Stanford says.

Pacifica's eyebrows come together. "They said that?"

"Yeah. It was in the paper and everything," Stanford answers.

 _Of_ course _they'd do something like this to keep their reputation,_ she thinks as she glares down at the ground, but keeps herself composed.

McGucket casts her a concerned look before looking up at Stanford. "Please? Take'er in."

After a moment of looking at the pleading man's face he sighs. "Alright. C'mon in, kid... you comin' in, too, Fiddle?"

"If ya don't mind," he says, following the girl inside.

She glances around and is impressed. It's a downgrade from the mansion, but after living in the junkyard for so long it's a _major_ upgrade. She notices the couch and blinks, impressed with how large it is compared to the one that she's been sleeping on and the armchair is quite large as well. She stays silent and merely looks around in awe. She's certainly glad she lived in the junkyard for a while so that she could _truly_ appreciate what she'll be living in.

"T-thank you, Mr. Pines," she stutters, slightly overwhelmed at the kindness of this man.

"No problem, kid... I'm gonna go make breakfast, make yourself comfy. If ya see anyone that looks like me that's my brother," he says before ducking into the kitchen.

 _He has a brother? Living here? Since when?_

Pacifica sits on the couch and places her backpack on the ground near her feet. She's used to McGucket- they've gotten used to each other- but the Pines are a mystery to her.

"You alright?" McGucket asks, kneeling down to be eye level with her.

She gives him a small smile. "It'll be an adjustment, but I think I'll be alright."

A man looking almost exactly like Stanford- his hair is a dark shade of gray with a silver streak around his head, and he has a dimple chin and more physically fit it seems, but generally smaller, and he has six fingers on each hand- walks in and sits in the recliner, ignoring her- or at least looking like it at first- and pulling out a newspaper. "Good morning."

"Uh- good morning..."

"Heard you were in boarding school," he states as he looks in his paper. "Though there have been rare sightings of you- almost like you're Big Foot around here."

 _Big Foot?_

She hadn't realized she said that aloud until he replies, "Almost. It's harder to catch an image of you because every time they manage to get one it's blurred so no one really believes it."

 _Couldn't they tell the_ truth for once _and tell them that they disowned me? Don't the have a single scrap of decency in them?_

"P'cifica, darlin', loosen up," McGucket advises, looking at her warily.

Her fists are grabbing the couch as best they can in her tight grip. When she releases them there's a little pain from the release of pressure, but otherwise she's just left with red hands.

She reassures McGucket that she's fine despite how her blood boils.

Northwests are terrible and- to be honest- she's glad she's not one of them anymore. There were too many restraints and lies. She had to lie about herself and make herself come off as a snobby rich girl when all he wanted to do was play games and do half the crazy stuff she saw the "poor" kids do, lie about her parents and tell everyone that they're the best of the best and loved her and cared for her and never did anything to hurt her, she had to lie about how the Northwests were good and honest people who treated everyone with decency. She had become the best actress and she even fooled herself a few times into thinking the Northwests were the best, but that was shot down immediately as she walked into the door of the mansion.

 _Probably could've got an award_ , she thinks bitterly, but shoves those thoughts away to keep from worrying McGucket.

"I take it that _you're_ the one that Stan's adopting. You'll have about a week of school to make up, but I'm sure you'll be fine," the man whose name she has yet to receive grunts as he flips the page of the newspaper.

 _Wait, what?_ "E-excuse me? A week? School? Who said I was going to school?"

He glances up at her. "Well, you can't exactly stay here without going to school and it's not advisable for you to stay with McGucket- I mean you're a bit skinnier than you should be at- how old are you, eleven, twelve?- but not unhealthily so. So do my brother this favor so he's less likely to go to jail and let him enroll you at the school here."

The only word that she can find that even closely defines this man is _indifferent_ and she's not sure if she's going to get along with him all that well _._

"Fine," she sighs and leans back against the couch only to find herself getting eaten by it.

"Breakfast is ready!" Stanford calls.

Stanley closes the paper and folds it under his arm. "Fantastic."

Pacifica follows into the kitchen/dining room and sits in one of the spares seats- across from McGucket and between the twins.

"I see you've meet Stanford," Mr. Mystery says.

Pacifica blinks and looks between them for a heartbeat before finding her voice. "Wait, I thought _you_ were Stanford!"

"My name's actually Stanley," he informs while putting the food on the plates. "I took his identity for thirty years until I got him back."

It takes several seconds for her to wrap her mind around it but she nods. "O-okay, I think I got it... I think."

 _Oh, dear Lord, is this bacon? Real bacon?!_ She can't help but think as she blinks at her plate.

"Say yer grace, P'cifica," McGucket says when she moves to pick up her fork.

"Oh, sorry," she murmurs before pulling her hands back and bowing her head and going over the quick prayer that McGucket taught her to say over her food before immediately chowing down on the pancakes and bacon with only the minimal amount of manners that she's maintained over her time with McGucket.

"Wow, this girl can eat!" Stanford- no Stan _ley_ \- mutters as he watches her eat with fascination.

She doesn't bother to reply to the rhetorical comment and instead finishes her meal and wipes her mouth. "Thank you for the food, Mr. Pines."

"No problem... want anymore?"

"No, thanks, I'm pretty full now," she replies and gets up to wash her dishes.

Stanford leans back so that he's balancing on two legs of his chair and grabs the dishes from her. "I'll take that."

"Hey!"

"You can barely reach the sink without the step stool, I've got this," he says as he places the plate next to his own.

"Just because I'm short doesn't mean I can't wash some dishes," she snaps before glancing at McGucket.

"Yer-" he starts, but is cut off from Stanf- _ley_ \- Stanley- laughing.

"This girl's got some spunk! I like her."

Pacifica blinks in surprise. McGucket's _dis_ courages her to be sarcastic and snappy so it's strange- and kind of relieving in some weird way- to be _en_ couraged to let out some of her natural sarcasm and a bit of her snappiness (though that might just be a female thing anyway).

"Don't _encourage_ her!" McGucket snaps as he hits the laughing man- who holds up his arms in defense while he leans away- and Pacifica can't help, but notice that his accent lessens the tiniest bit and he pronounced the words in _plain English_.

"What do you expect me to do? _Not_ laugh when the kid says something funny?" Stanley defends himself- kind of poorly, but it must make sense in his mind.

McGucket scowls at him and Pacifica uses their argument as a distraction to grab her plate and go to the sink to prove a point. _Gonna tell me I can't do something because I'm short? I'll show- wait... that ba-_

Stanford is smirking with satisfaction as he sips his coffee and reads his newspaper.

"You tricked me!"

He looks over at her with amused brown eyes. "Oh, really? How?"

She's taken aback by this and stunned into silence. She had fully expected him to deny that he _had_ tricked her but not to ask her _how_ he did it.

"Erm... well... you used reverse psychology," she answers once she finds her voice.

He raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Do you even know what reverse psychology means?"

She crosses her arms with a huff. " _Yes!_ It means you pretended not to want me to do something so that I'd do what you want. You pretended that you didn't want me to do the dishes, but that made me want to do them even more so now I'm not gonna do it."

He smiles approvingly as he stands and grabs the dirty dishes. "Good job, but you missed something."

"What?" She demands, having thought she had figured it out.

"You were going to do your dishes anyway. I just didn't want you to do the dishes," he answers as he starts washing the dishes.

Her jaw goes slack for a moment before she manages to compose herself. "That's not fair!"

"Life's not fair."

"Welcome to the family," Stanley chuckles.

* * *

HAT: I didn't die!

Pines & Gideon: Thanks to us!

HAT: And I thank you again, but you don't have to get salty that I ended up in a black hole!

Dipper: You're the cause of them!

HAT: *shrugs* Sorry, I can't control them.

Mabel: Maybe it's because they're hungry.

Gideon: Aww, aren't you cute!~

Stanford: Stay away from my niece...

HAT: Well... since you're all here, would y'all...?

Pines & Gideon: Review!

Gideon: Tie her down so she won't fall into another black hole!

HAT: Wait, guys! Guys!

*screen goes blank*


	7. Chapter 7

HAT: Alright, speeding this up a tiny bit more, probably, but there's _plenty_ of story left and don't sorry, Dipper and Mabel will come in soon... ish... haven't even written that far yet, but I will. For now, enjoy!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls and it's characters because if I did the heads would be slightly more proportioned (on the children since the adults are pretty much proportioned right).**

* * *

Two days was all it took to become Pacifica Elise Pines (Pep, both Stans had insisted on calling her despite her protests)- an impressive amount of time since she's heard from one of the maids a few years ago that it could take months or years to get permission to adopt someone. She had asked Stanley why it was so fast and he had answered that he had been getting ready to take the twins since they were about ten, but he wouldn't go into _why_. She was moved into the attic and they bought her some more clothes and other necessities as well as school supplies that will- as always- disappear in the middle of the (A/N:) first semester. She found herself visiting McGucket the last weekend before she had to go to school- her last days of pure freedom.

"I don't wanna go to school," Pacifica voices on Sunday evening, her blue eyes on the horizon as she sits beside McGucket on top of a junk pile.

"Pacifica." She looks up at him and his blue eyes are on her and she's surprised at their clarity while he has a deep set scowl of determination. "You've got ta get an ed'jacation. How do ya expect ta get a good job without _at least_ a high school d'ploma?... Sweetheart, I know yer scared ta see the people ya hurt an' made fun of 'cause you don't wanna deal with their ridicule, but ain't nobody's opinion of you more valu'ble then yers. And if yer still still feelin' doubtful on yerself then know my opinion of ya is good. Yer a sweet young lady- ya got an attitude sometimes- but yer heart's good. That's all that counts an' don't let nobody tell ya diff'rent."

She can't look at him because her eyes are on the junk below that seems to be swimming. "Thanks, McGucket."

"No problem, sweetie... now let's get ya back home fer somethin' ta eat. You've got a big day t'marrah an' ya gotta be well-rested an' such."

Wordlessly the two make the trek back to the Mystery Shack where her new "dad" and "uncle" are no doubt waiting for her. McGucket enters the house and settles himself on the couch while she continues into the kitchen area to see what Stanford's cooking for dinner.

"Whaddoya want, squirt?"

"What're you making?" She asks, trying to look into the pot.

"Food," he replies.

She frowns and sticks out her tongue. "Smart Aleck."

He frowns at her. "Watch who you're sticking that out at. _I'm_ the one makin' your food."

"Pep causing you trouble?" Stanley asks as he walks into the kitchen to crap himself some soda.

"Stop calling me 'Pep' already," she snaps at her "uncle."

"Is it causing you bodily harm?"

 _Dang it! You and your stupid questions,_ she thinks, taken aback once again. "Um... no..."

"Are you being psychologically damaged?"

"I... guess not..."

"Does it only get on your nerves?"

"Yes! I mean- no- I- grrr!"

Stanford smirks. "Then you're stuck with Pep. That makes it 12-3."

He makes making her frustrated a _game_. He keeps asking her how something effects something else or how someone did something- even when watching TV. It frustrates her, but she's sure that she'll learn to live with it... eventually.

"Alright, answer me this," she says as she crosses her arms over her chest. " _Why_ do you always ask me questions?"

He smirks. "Why do you feel the need to ask me why I ask you questions?"

"You're not supposed to answer a question with a question!"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out later," he replies as he pauses to look in the pot. "Mmm, gumbo. Haven't seen you make that in a while."

"What's gumbo?" Pacifica asks only to gain weird looks from the two men.

"I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong," Stanley grumbles, turning up his hearing aid. "What'd you say?"

"What's gumbo? I mean, it's not like I'm asking where babies come from."

" _Do_ you know where babies com from?" Stanford asks warily.

She rolls her eyes. "Who doesn't?"

Instead of answering _that_ question he asks, "How have you never even _heard_ of gumbo?"

She shrugs. "It never came up before."

Stanley clears his throat. "Well... gumbo is a stew consists of meat or shellfish, bell peppers, onions, celery, and multiple spices and such."

And suddenly a lightbulb goes off over her head. "Oh, you mean that stuff McGucket makes!"

Two brown gazes meet briefly before looking back at her, wondering _exactly_ what McGucket had been making.

"Fiddle!" Stanley calls. "You ever make gumbo for the girl?"

"Sure did!" calls the man from his comfy seat in the living room.

"Well, you've never had _my_ gumbo," Stanley says, a grin on his face. "Better than anything you've ever tasted."

Pacifica glances at Stanford for confirmation and he holds his hand and tilts it back and forth a few times. "It's pretty good."

"You liar," Stanley grunts as he elbows his twin playfully. He looks back at the gumbo and grins. "It's finished. Fiddlesticks! Get in here, we're gonna eat!"

The bearded man enters and jumps into his chair. "Ah've bin lookin' forw'rd to this for a while."

" _Told you_ my gumbo was the best," Stanley says as he starts serving the food.

She- as usual- says her quick prayer and is about to dig in when she notices something shining in her bowl. She picks it up between her index finger and thumb and lifts it up to see it is a silver hair. She blinks at it and then looks up at Stanford as he picks the hair out of his food then her gaze goes to Stanley, who's putting the pot back on the stove.

"You _shed?!_ "

"Yeah- a little. Like, a couple of hairs in the food usually. Haven't you noticed it in your food before?" Stanley asks.

" _No!_ "

"If he didn't shed hair into the food I'd say it were the best gumbo I'd ever tasted, but since he does it's average," Stanford states as he moves his bowl this way and that to see if there are anymore hairs in it. "But it's still really good... Pacifica?"

 _I have his hair in my stomach,_ Pacifica can't help but think. _Even McGucket didn't have hair in the food he gave me..._

"Pacifi-" Stanford starts as he reaches forward to shake her shoulder because she has been silent for too long, but immediately retracts his hand to his internal bubble when she lets out a scream. "Stop screaming, it's not gonna do you any good."

"What do you mean? I have his hair in my stomach!" She snaps to the dark gray haired man with a fierce glare.

He sighs. "It's out of your system by now- most likely. It's not gonna kill you." Stanford picks up her bowl and gives her his own. "I got all the hair out of that one, now you can eat in peace."

After a minutes- more or less- she calms down enough to take her first bite of gumbo. Her eyes widen in surprise at how _good_ this tastes. Her stomach immediately grumbles and demands more so she complies with a small grumble of distaste at finding her new guardian's hair in her food, but otherwise without complaint.

"Ready for school tomorrow?" Stanley asks.

She pauses her eating and sighs. "Not really, but I guess I have to be, don't I?"

"Yep," Stanley grunts.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Stanford replies.

Pacifica casts a glance toward McGucket as he continues to eat and his eyes meet her for a brief moment and she feels a wave of encouragement. "Yeah... it will..."

* * *

HAT: The (A/N:) int he beginning was gone be me boasting about how I found out my niece was born, but then I decided to set it aside. I was literally in the middle of writing the story when my dad burst in and showed a picture of my niece and I stopped for something like an hour so that's there pretty much as a reminder of when my niece interrupted me- er- I mean... was shown to me for the first time...

Jeff: A niece you say? We could raise her-

HAT: *glares fiercely* If you put a finger on my niece I _promise_ gnomes will be extinct.

Jeff: You know what... I'm just gonna say my line and- uh- go look for a gnome queen in- uh- in town.

HAT: That'd be advisable.

Jeff: Review, eh?... also, anyone that wants to be a gnome queen can just come on over and marry all one thousand of us!

HAT: *rolls eyes* Desperate.

Jeff: Leave us alone! You hurt... what's your name again?

Schmebulock: Schmebulock.

Jeff: Schmebulock's feelings!

HAT: *pats Schmebulock's head* I'm sorry... you know, you're the only gnome I actually like.

Schmebulock: *flips birdie to Jeff* Schmebulock!

Jeff: *gapes* What?!

HAT: *laughs and pats his head again* Oh, you're _definitely_ my favorite gnome now.


	8. Chapter 8

HAT: Alright, speeding this up a tiny bit more, probably, but there's _plenty_ of story left and don't sorry, Dipper and Mabel will come in soon... ish... haven't even written that far yet, but I will. For now, enjoy!

(Edited) - for me to keep track of where I am on editing.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls and it's characters because if I did the heads would be slightly more proportioned (on the children since the adults are pretty much proportioned right).**

* * *

"Pacifica... Pacifica! I promise if I have to say your name one more time I'm taking that bear and-"

Stanford didn't even get the chance to finish his threat because Pacifica had sat up immediately despite how sleep still fogged her mind. "I'm up..."

The man sighs and grabs her back pack. "Get changed and come downstairs for a quick bowl of cereal, we're running a little behind schedule. I've already got your lunch packed, I'm just gonna put it in your backpack."

"O-okay," she replies with a yawn.

"If you're not down in five minutes I'm gonna take the bear."

She glares at him, but gets up and goes to the dresser where her new clothes are. She pulls out a pair of blue jeans and a nice hot pink shirt and pulls them on before she takes a look at her hair. It looks like one of McGucket's raccoons were playing with it.

 _I don't care, I refuse to go to school looking like this,_ she thinks as she grabs her brush and starts going through it as fast as possible. It was a painful process, but she managed to get it semi-tame so she grabs a hot pink scrunchie and pulls her hair into a high ponytail. When she's satisfied she pulls on her white sneakers and runs down the stairs just in time to see Stanford climbing them.

"I'm ready," she says in a matter-of-fact tone and squeezes past him on the staircase. "How long do I have to eat?"

"Two minutes," Stanford answers.

"'Ford! Where's Pep?!" Stanley calls.

"On her way there! I'm putting her bag in the car!"

"Okay!"

Pacifica makes her way to the kitchen and sees a bowl of soggy Lucky Charms waiting for her. She scarfs it down anyway- having eaten worse- and puts the dish in the sink before rushing out the door where Stanford stands playing with his keys.

"'Bout time!" he grunts and looks at his clock. "Let's hurry up."

She gets in the back seat and Stanley gets in the driver's seat. "Um... Mr. Pines..."

"Yes?" both answer, turning to look at her.

"Okay, we _need_ to come up with something for me to call both of you, but other than that... shouldn't _he_ be driving?" She asks, gesturing to Stanford since she- and every person in Gravity Falls- knows how dangerous the man behind the wheel currently is on the road.

"If you wanna be late."

"He's got a point," Stanford shrugs. "I actually _follow the law._ "

"Most of the time," Stanley adds as he pulls out of the driveway and zooms out.

 _He's gonna kill me!_ Pacifica thinks with her heart beating erratically.

Eight minutes was all it took for them to pull up to the front of the school and she was shivering and unable to move for several moments.

" _I'll_ pick you up after school," Stanford assures.

Stanley scoffs. "I'm not _that_ bad... Better get going, you're gonna be late."

"Have a good day, Pep!" They both say and she snaps out of her stupor and glares at them.

"Stop calling me that," she grunts as she grabs her backpack and exits the car.

She walks into the school and finds a woman with white-blond hair standing there with her hair in a neat bun and wearing a dress-suit- the principle she recalls.

"Hello, you're Pacifica Pines?" The woman asks, her gaze judgmental since she _knows_ who the blond is- was.

"Yes, ma'am," Pacifica nods.

"I'm Ms. Williams. This will be your schedule," she says handing the girl to the piece of paper. "I'll be taking you to your first class."

"Yes, ma'am."

Pacifica follows Ms. Williams to her first class- Aerospace. She doesn't know _why_ she's in that class, but she's not going to argue over it. She _did_ say she didn't care what classes she had for electives just so long as it isn't sports. There are few people in the hallways, but all eyes are on her- Pacifica _Northwest_ who was _supposedly_ sent to boarding school three months ago.

 _Won't they be surprised when they find out I'm a Pines now_.

Ms. Williams opens the door and there are about ten other kids in the classroom whose eyes are all on her- one of them Mabel's friends, Lollipop?- and in the front of the room is a tall African American with tan slacks, dark brown dress shoes, a brown sweater, and glasses- the teacher.

"Mr. Roberts, this is Pacifica Pines, your newest student."

The students stare in shock, but Mr. Roberts stays composed and gives Pacifica a kind smile and speaks with a soothing, deep voice. "Come in, come in. I've got the papers for your guardian to sign right here." She walks over to him and takes the papers from him. "Turn them in tomorrow for a free 100."

"Yes, sir," she replies and gets a sweat in the back of the class, but that doesn't seem to stop them from turning to look at her.

 _Great..._

-AT THE END OF THE DAY-

School is a terrible place.

All day the other students completely avoided her and made her an _outsider_ while coming up with vicious rumors about her and _why_ she was going to public school under the last name Pines. Even the two girls that she'd once called her _friends_ made fun of her and helped come up with the vicious rumors. She was late to _every_ class because no one would show her where her next class was and if they did they led her to the wrong one. She ended up eating lunch in the corner of the cafeteria so she wouldn't have to interact with the other students. Even a majority of teachers treated her like she was trash now that the Northwests can't protect her and took their anger at the ones that gave her their genes out on her.

 _It's no fair!_

 _Life isn't fair._

Stanley's words hit her like a ton of bricks. Despite how everyone wishes life isn't fair. Granted people are the reason that life isn't fair and they _could_ make it fair if they at least _tried_ , but that wasn't going to happen in this lifetime or any time soon.

So now she sits on the school steps with her backpack in place and her hands stuffed in her pockets while waiting for her ride to come pick her up. Some kids are getting on the bus and others are also waiting for their parents, but most are talking merrily with their friends while the rare few are simply looking for their ride.

When she sees both Stans' car she rushes forward to keep from being around her peers anymore. Stanford points for her to get in the back seat and she gets in without any hesitation and buckles up as quickly as humanly possible.

Stanford drives off and asks, "How was your first day of school?"

"Great," she scoffs sarcastically and turning to look out her window.

He lets out a heavy sigh. "What happened?"

"Nothing," she snaps.

"No need for that," he assures with a tone that's _supposed_ to be soothing, but for some reason grates on her nerves.

"Can I go to the junkyard?"

"Don't you have homework?"

"Mostly my guardian does, but yeah, a little," she answers.

"Then after you get your homework done."

She lets out an irritable sigh. "I can do it there."

He lets out a laugh. "Yeah, so you can use the excuse, 'a raccoon stole my homework' tomorrow? No, thank you. Homework first, then junkyard."

Pacifica _never_ thought that that sentence would make sense in life and be used so casually. Still, she huffs and pouts in the backseat while refusing to look at the man.

"C'mon, Pep, get a little peppy! You got the worst over with," he says with an optimistic tone that does _not_ seem to fit him.

Maybe it did at one time, but optimism is _not_ something Pacifica associates with this Stan- the other one at times, but not this one.

"Oh, uh- Dipper and Mabel are moving here in about a month or two- depending on how it goes down in Piedmont," he offers.

"Great, two more people to ignore me," she grumbles under her breath.

The rest of the ride is silent and she ends up putting her papers that have to be signed by Stanley on the table before going up to the attic to avoid any questions on how her day went from either Stanley or Soos, who happened to be in the room. She'd rather get her homework out of the way so that she can go see McGucket- after all, she feels better when she's around him. Sure, he tries to keep her ladylike and has a few restrictions, but he's familiar and she knows him better than the Pines or their employees- one of which it _too_ irritating- so many questions.

Later that evening when Pacifica is petting McGucket's raccoon wife that rests in her lap and voices how _terrible_ her day was.

"Did ya honestly expect any less?" McGucket asks.

She sighs. "No... but I didn't expect it to go like _this!_ Even the _teachers_..." she takes a moment to breathe and recollect herself so that she can speak calmly. "Even the teachers treat me like I'm trash. They're only doing that because they hate my _them_."

"I know it's hard, but it'll get easier to deal with in time."

"Well, there's that at school and Mr. Pines-"

"Which one?"

"Stanford," she states and continues on as if she had never been interrupted, "who constantly asks me questions and answers my questions _with_ questions. The other Mr. Pines isn't all that bad, but sometimes his jokes are a little over my head."

"Don't pay them any mind. Fer naow you have an ed'jacation ta get an' ya don't wanna mess that up... speaking' of which, 'bout time ya went home."

"Can't I stay the night here?"

"Ya don't got nothing here fer school," he counters and takes his "wife" from her. "I think that's the car right there... yep, best git ta gittin'."

"Bye, McGucket," she says, waving to him before running out to get in the car.

Stanley waves at McGucket and drives away while asking, "Enjoy the junkyard today?"

"Yeah. We had to run from a bunch of angry raccoons, but it was fun," she informs, a broad grin on her face.

"I don't see how... oversized rats..."

"That's what I call some of them! The ones that take the stuff out of my hands," she informs.

He chuckles. "You sure you're not part Pines? You're startin' to sound like me."

"Nature vs. Nurture could have something to do with that," she points out, sounding more like Stanley than she _ever_ wanted to.

"Aaand _now_ you sound like Poindexter," he grunts. "Well, if you start eating like a _real_ pig, I'm gonna say Fiddlesticks had something to do with it."

"Or you," she murmurs with a smirk.

"Hey, I'm the only one that can make smart aleck-y comments!"

She laughs. "I thought you liked my smart aleck-y comments?"

"Only when they're not aimed at me."

She giggles. "Yeah, _that's_ when they're acceptable."

"Just for that you're getting extra hair in your food tonight."

* * *

HAT: And there's her first day of school! I'm really impatient and didn't go that in depth because there's more that is to come.

Wendy: Dude, where am I?!

HAT: Minor character in the entire fixation on Pacifica, but you'll come in after.. two? Three chapters? I don't know anymore, all of them are blurring together.

Wendy: *narrows eyes* Are you alright?

HAT: NO! The person on my TV is _stupid_ and is about to cheat on her husband and he's the protagonist and then there's this thing and the female protagonist is in deep, it's getting sooo intense...

Wendy: Dude, that sounds like it. What is it?

HAT: Technical Difficulties (AKA Complications). It's so... interesting... WHY AM I WATCHING THIS?!... *whimpers* I don't need anymore in my life... and then I'm totally sucked into Monster Falls-

Wendy: What?

HAT: Nothing (and GarGrunkle is way cool), anyway can you say it- These amateurs!- um... please, Wendy?

Wendy: Huh? Oh, yeah. Uh, review, dudes. *watches show with HAT* Yo, everyone knows not to leave a hostage with scissors when they have one hand free... *shakes head* These two really don't know what they're doing. *quiets down and continues to watch*

(Literally watched the show while I was writing this)


	9. Chapter 9

HAT: Can you tell that I'm a little impatient by the major time skips? Anyway, here's where it gets... a little interesting. Hope that you enjoy!

(Edited)

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls, the Pines would've kept Schmebulock as a pet... so I don't.**

* * *

A few weeks had gone by and she could officially handle herself in school... granted she was a loner that had no friends and was forced onto the track team after the track coach saw her running from raccoons that got into the girl's locker room in her jeans and gym shirt barefoot, but school wasn't as bad as it could've been and so long as she had something nice- or nice-ish since her new guardians were just as rambunctious and sarcastic as she could be and then there was also the hair in the food, but nevertheless nice-ish - to go home to she knew she could make it all the way to the next summer if she persevered.

She made that agreement that she would work in the Shack at least once every two weekends or when there's short staff, but otherwise she's left to do her schoolwork in peace and go see McGucket whenever she can-who sometimes comes to the Shack to eat- and track practice. Wendy and Soos had come to accept her and even considered her a friend- which she was grateful for since she doesn't want to say her only friends were three old men that are in her new family...

Life- so far- has settled into a rhythm... too bad for Pacifica that rhythm doesn't last long.

Currently she's out on the porch reading one of the books assigned to her to read for English, _The Outsiders_ , and she's been entertained with it. About halfway through the book- however- she hears something nearby and glances up to find nothing.

 _Probably just_ another _raccoon,_ Pacifica reassures herself as she settles back down to read, but her body stays tense all the same. Even if it _is_ just a raccoon, there's no telling _what_ could happen so it's best to stay alert so that there won't be anything too bad to deal with later.

The rustling happens again- this time right behind her- and before she can turn around she's got her head in darkness and she's shoved into what she assumes is a bag. She hears multiple voices and then she feels herself getting dragged away.

"Help! Help!" She screams in hopes of having _someone_ hear her, but with her guardian in the middle of a tour and Stanley in the middle of _avoiding_ the tour she doubts she'll be heard, but it's still better than not doing anything at all. " _Help!_ "

"Quiet down, toots," a male says.

 _Toots?!_ She thinks furiously.

Several minutes later she's taken out of the bag and tied t a tree by- and she can't believe that this is real- gnomes. Her eyes glance around so that she can get a bearing on where she is, but she doesn't see anything that's familiar. This isn't even on the usual route that she goes when going and coming from the junkyard. And it's near lunch time so- hopefully- one or the other of the Stans have noticed that she was missing by now and know that she isn't with McGucket.

 _Where_ am _I? And why am I here?_ She wonders, but doesn't say anything.

"Hello, princess!" A brown haired gnome says with a broad grin. "Or soon-to-be queen!"

She narrows her eyes at him. "Who're you?"

"I'm Jeff! We've chosen you to become our gnome queen which means you'll be marrying all one thousand of us."

 _Oh._ Heck _no_ , she thinks with a snarl. "I don't think so."

"Well, there's no way to fight us, you're kinda tied up, toots."

"You're gonna let me go," she says calmly, but forcefully in hopes of being able to intimidate them into letting her go. "And you're going to take me home. Do you understand?"

"No can do!"

 _What else can I do?_ She wonders. "But I'm not a good queen. I know the _perfect_ queen for you."

"Oh? No, we've already fallen for that once, we're not falling for _that_ again," Jeff says. "Alright, boys, get her ready for the wedding!"

"Hey! Don't touch me! Let me go!" And then she takes a deep breath and lets out the loudest and most ear piercing scream that she can muster before they stuff her mouth with a cloth- most likely a hat since one of them doesn't have one on anymore- and ties something around her head to keep it in her mouth.

"Quiet!" Hisses the brown haired gnome as he glances around to make sure no one is coming to her aid. "Get'er up and into that dress, boys."

Half an hour- more or less- and she had a wedding dress on over her clothes and the veil over her face and rope around her mouth to keep her from spitting out the hat. She was tied to a moving contraption that some of the gnomes pushed into an area where it looks like the ceremony's taking place.

 _I_ cannot _get married to a gnome- er- gnomes_ , Pacifica thinks as she struggles to get out of her bonds futilely. _Please, someone, save me_.

She's in tears as the ceremony begins and she has _no_ hope in being saved now. The gnome- Jeff- stands on top of some other gnomes with a triumphant grin on his face as the gnome conducting the ceremony speaks.

"Does anyone object? Speak now or forever hold your peace!"

"I do!" Pacifica screams around her gag, but she can't be heard- or rather- understood.

"Well, since I hear no one-"

" _We_ object!"

Pacifica turns her head and sees both Stans standing there, Stanley wearing brass knuckles and Stanford carrying a golf club. She has _never_ been so relieved to see either of these men until now. Along with that relief is a little anger because they didn't get her _half an hour ago_ when she screamed the _first time_.

"You wanna get them while I grab Pacifica?" Stanford asks.

"Hand me that golf club," Stanley says, holding a hand out.

Stanford tosses the object to his brother and runs forward, kicking gnomes out of the way as he goes until he reaches Pacifica. "Sorry it took so long."

She narrows her eyes as he starts taking off her restraints and when she's completely free she glares at the gnomes. "I'm just glad you got here before I was married, but do me a favor next time and get them before they put me in the dress- huh?"

"Duly noted," he grunts as he kicks a gnome like a soccer ball into the forest out of sight. "Now come on before they start regrouping."

He grabs her arm and half-drags her behind him as he runs back towards his brother who acts like the gnomes are golf balls- or those little people in the mini-golf place that she vaguely remembers encountering over the summer with Mabel and Dipper. Stanford grabs his brother's collar with the other arm and Stanley bats his arm away and starts running with them.

"Guess we've got a lot to talk about when we get home, huh?" Stanley asks.

"You think?! Why do they want a gnome queen anyway?!"

"Dunno," Stanford admits. "Still trying to figure that one out."

Before she could ask anymore questions she's yanked onto his shoulder and he jumps to the left as a giant log lands between him and his brother. She looks back and sees a giant gnome made of all the gnomes.

"Give us back our queen!"

"What is that thing?!"

"The reason why we don't mess with gnomes," Stanford replies.

"I see the cart!" Stanley grunts. "I got this, 'Ford."

"Go ahead," Stanford says as all three of them get in the cart. Just as Stanley starts driving Stanford buckles Pacifica in the middle with the words, "Safety first."

"They're getting closer!" Pacifica screams when she sees the shadow covering everything around them.

Stanley laughs. "Don't worry, this isn't the first time we've dealt with gnomes... just the first time we've dealt with them in a while."

"Not to mention we dealt with them by ourselves at two different times," Stanford adds.

"That's not exactly reassuring," she snaps to her guardian and his brother.

He laughs. "Have a little faith in us, Pep!"

She'd snap about the nickname if they weren't in a life-death situation. Her heart beat is erratic and her mind is on overdrive over all the possibilities of them dying- or them dying and her bring married to one thousand gnomes- neither of which is a good ending situation for her.

"Do you have any homework?" Stanford suddenly asks out of the blue.

"What?!"

He glances at her. "Do you have any homework?"

She grits her teeth. "Out of all times to ask that question you ask now?!"

"Answer the question."

Pacifica doesn't know _why_ he wants this answer, but she finally says, "I'm reading _The Outsiders_ , but otherwise there's nothing else."

"Uh-huh," he nods as he throws a grenade back at the gnomes. "And how far have you gotten?"

She scrambles through her brain for the answer and follows through the plot until she reaches a dead end. "Um... to the part where- uh- where Pony meets Cherry."

"Okay, so you're not _too_ deep in the book, but decently enough... when did you start reading it?"

"A few days ago," she admits.

"Mhm... _drive faster would you?_ And how do you like it?"

"But the gnomes are-" she starts, seeing the gnomes closing in on them and starting to panic, but gets interrupted by Stanley.

"Doesn't matter. How do you like the book?"

She sees no point in asking questions about homework and her opinion over a book that she's reading for school when there's a giant gnome made of regular gnomes on their tail ready to kill the men and take Pacifica as their queen for what can be assumed to be the rest of eternity or- at least- until she dies. Still not a good ending for her.

She glares at him and feels the almost overwhelming urge to throttle him and keep him from asking questions that don't matter if any of them _die_. "How is this even relevant to our situation?!"

" _Move over_ ," Stanford growls at his brother and has the both of them switch places where Stanford's driving and Stanley's the one holding off the gnomes.

"No need to be so forceful, we're fine," Stanley replies, but throws a grenade at the gnome's feet anyway.

"Define 'fine,'" Pacifica demands.

"Irrelevant," Stanford snaps as he jerks the wheel to the left to dodge a large, tree. "How do you like the book?"

"We're about to die and you're wondering how I like a book?!"

 _This man's insane,_ she can't help, but think.

He sighs. "Please, just answer the question."

"Fine... I like it a lot."

"Why?"

"Give us back out gnome queen!" Jeff shouts.

"Over my cold, dead body!" Stanley shouts and pulls out a rocket launcher.

" _Where did you even get that?!_ " Pacifica demands, not knowing where in town they could get that or where in the Mystery Shack they could even hide that.

"Pacifica," Stanford growls without taking his eyes off the "road."

And then Pacifica stops fighting the questions because she knows that he'll keep doing it. "It's easy to read and the characters are easy to see in real life even though it was way back in the day."

"Uh-huh- Stan hold on to the damn cart or you're gonna fall off!- and who's your favorite character?"

"Haha! Take that!" Stanley shouts with an ecstatic grin.

She shifts through the characters and finally settles on, "It's between Ponyboy and Sodapop."

"Why?"

"Ponyboy's got something to him that's honest and he's a unique character while Soda's very charismatic and almost childlike at times."

"Least favorite character?"

"Uuuuuummm..." She glances back and sees the gnomes trip.

"Ha! That's how it's done!" Stanley shouts triumphantly.

"Focus, Pep."

She snaps back to attention. "I- uh- I don't like the Socks or Soes or however you pronounce it because they do terrible things and never get in trouble for it... just like I used to..."

There's silence for a few more moments than he had previously left and then seems to snap out of whatever stupor that she was in. "I want specifics. Give me a specific character."

She takes a few moments to think. "Um... Dally, he's kind of rude and obnoxious and does bad things on purpose and doesn't care."

"I think we lost them," Stanley grunts as he plops into his seat and looks back. When he's sure he turns and looks at Pacifica to see she's kind of pale. "You okay, Pep?"

After taking a moment to assess herself she finds that she's _actually_ feeling fine- no overly erratic heartbeat or need to make the cart go faster or the need to throttle the driver anymore. "Yeah... _why_?"

This question is directed at Stanford, who continues to drive back toward the Mystery Shack looking unfazed by anything that's just occurred. He doesn't seem to be effected at all by this question and he continues to drive with a near stoic expression- or rather, as she describes him- an _indifferent_ one.

"I was using casual conversation to keep your mind occupied on something other than what could've been our destruction. It's a distraction that occupies your mind so that you're a bit calmer thinking about something that's a little trivial compared to the situation you're in."

Pacifica takes a moment to contemplate this before she nods. "Thanks... I needed it."

He smirks. "No problem, Pep."

She sighs. "Stop calling me Pep..."

Stanley runs a hand through his hair. "Guess we gotta let her in on all this stuff?"

"What stuff?" She demands.

Stanford sighs. "Well, you're gonna have to learn a bit more than just the stuff you're learning at school... you're gonna have to learn about the paranormal, too."

* * *

HAT: Yay! Some of the weird stuff begins.

Candy: Why do you make Stanley so... that?

HAT: Well, I couldn't think of anything else that would _fit_ him personality wise, he just seems like one of those people (even if I haven't seen anything other than him pulling off his mask and the screenshots and know the voice actor).

Candy: Ooooh. Well, that's a big assumption.

HAT: I know, but there's nothing to _go_ off of yet!

Candy: Couldn't you have waited until after the show came on to write this?

HAT: ... *looks at calendar* Well if I had just started the first chapter today, yes... but since I didn't, no. Now, would you please say it for me?

Candy: Please, review this story.

HAT: Also- since I can't help myself and I love making song references- it tastes like candy!~

Candy: Who sings that song?

HAT: Cameo, before your time... and mine, but he and all of Motown was childhood so... yeah.

*fades to black*


	10. Chapter 10

HAT: Another chapter!... don't have to say so, enjoy.

(Edited)

 **Disclaimer: Let's just say if _I_ owned Gravity Falls, a whole lot of messed up stuff would've happened to my favorite characters and it wouldn't be on Disney... it's a good thing I don't own it and Alex Hirsch does. However the plot and OCs I * throw in are mine.**

* * *

Lessons about the paranormal were an... interesting experience to say the least. Stanford had journals absolutely filled to the brim about everything there is to know about the supernatural in Gravity Falls and was even in the process of making a fourth- which explains why he was shut up in his room when he wasn't doing some sort of domestic work (he has the "mom" role where he picks her up from school after track practice and takes her to track meets and the like, the "mom" work). Stanley had taken a different approach to teaching her and started applying the weaknesses and weak spots that Stanford told her about and showed her how to use those to her advantage using some of the appropriate display for the appropriate monster as an example.

Today was a normal day with no paranormal lessons from Stanford or Stanley or some paranormal thing attacking them- just a few days ago they had a run-in with a vampire bat- but she had some track practice after school, and is now hanging out in the Mystery Shack while "doing homework" with Soos and Wendy.

"Dude, how much you wanna bet that I can get at least fifteen marshmallows in my mouth?" Soos asks.

Pacifica scoffs. "Twenty's nothing for you. I wanna see thirty."

"Dude, that'd be so cool," Wendy chimes and elands forward. "Do it Soos!"

Soos nods seriously. "I am up for the challenge."

Pacifica ignores her homework and watches Soos stuff his mouth with marshmallows. He gets to about thirty when he starts slowing down. That's when Wendy starts cheering.

"Chu-bby bu-nny, chu-bby bu-nny!"

Pacifica joins in, wanting him to reach the goal she set for him. The chant seems to fuel him on because he ends up getting to forty and he keeps going. This seems to fuel Pacifica with the amazement and the urge to have him stuff some stupidly high number like fifty into his mouth.

 _He's gotta be some sort of fleximouthed-something,_ Pacifica thinks in amazement as he gets to thirty-one.

"Pep! Are you doing your homework?!" Stanley calls from the back.

Immediately the two girls quiet down.

"Keep going," Wendy whispers while gesturing with her hand for him to continue.

Pacifica sits up. "Yeah, Papa Stan!" She looks down at her Algebra with distaste- she doesn't understand it. "Almost finished with it!"

There's silence for a while and Pacifica thinks that he's forgotten about them and continues to watch Soos stuff marshmallows in his mouth. She thinks this until Stanley walks into the room and glares at them from behind Soos. Pacifica and Wendy go quiet slowly and Wendy makes a motion to spit out the marshmallows, but Soos makes a confused noise and stops putting marshmallows in his mouth because of that confusion. If Stan _said_ anything Soos would probably choke on marshmallows which is the main reason the man is just standing there with his arms crossed over his chest while glaring at everyone.

"Spit out the marshmallows, Soos," Pacifica hisses, kicking the trashcan over to him.

Pacifica looks away when he spits all the marshmallows into the trash and then looks up when he yelps at seeing Stanley standing behind him. Pacifica knows that this isn't going to end well for any of them- especially if he sees her homework which is why it's being covered by her arm.

"This is what you call doing homework?" Stanley demands as he gestures towards Soos. He walks forward and yanks her homework from under her arm and looks at it with a frown and then looks at her. "Almost done, huh? You're not even halfway! I'm a _conman_ , Pacifica, I can tell when I'm being lied to."

She lowers her head in shame. "Sorry, Papa Stan," she murmurs.

The employees take this as their sign to go to a different part of the shop to work- which Pacifica's more than grateful for as they slide away from their employer.

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Pep, you've gotta do the work otherwise you're not gonna pass."

"I know," she insists in a louder and more forceful than she meant for it to be so she gets a look from her guardian that makes her lower her voice and speak a bit calmer. "I just don't understand it. Math is hard and I don't get it!"

"Then why don't you ask the teacher?"

" _I did_ ," she replies and then crosses her arms and huffs. "He doesn't like me so he doesn't help me understand any of it."

He sighs and looks down at the floor in thought for a second and then observes her face. "Alright, c'm'ere." Pacifica follows him to the kitchen and sits at the table when he does. He puts the paper on the table so that they can both see it and points to the first problem. "Is this what he used as an example?"

"Yeah," she says. "He didn't really say much about what to do, just wrote it down and expected us to get it."

 _And everyone else got help, but me,_ she thinks sourly.

"Okay," he grunts and points at the problems. "So the point is to find x right?"

"Yep," she replies.

He looks at it for about a second or two when he says, "The answer's thirteen."

She stares at him in amazement and then down at the problem. "How'd you do that?"

"I may not be good at all the other subjects in school, but _I'm_ the math genius in this family," Stanford informs.

 _Figures, he likes money a lot,_ she thinks. "So what'd you do to get that?"

"Add these two numbers on this side first... okay, so the numbers with the minus sign in front have to be added on both sides so add this and this to this side..."

"Like this?" Pacifica asks, unsure that she did it right.

He nods. "Yeah. Now add the others onto the other side."

"But x is still four. Do I multiply?"

"No, divide," he replies. "And your answer iiiiiiissss."

"Thirteen!"

"There you go! Now use what you did here everywhere else."

(A/N: It's been a minute since I've been in Algebra so I'm just going with what I _know_ I learned in Algebra, people probably learned way more in their first few months in school than this... moving on)

Stanley watches her do the problems while every now and then correcting her when she does something wrong. It was very much appreciated because she's sure without his help that she wouldn't understand it and be stuck looking up everything and barely scraping by.

"Thanks, Papa Stan," Pacifica says genuinely.

"No problem, kid," he replies and ruffles her hair much to her displeasure. "If you need help with your homework don't be afraid to ask me or 'Ford."

"Okay."

"Anymore that you need help with?"

"No, I'm good. This was the last of the homework I got left," she answers truthfully.

He nods and gets up. "Alright- I guess you're done with that. Now we can get to the _real_ work."

She frowns and raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Whaaat are you planning, old man?"

Stanford grins. "Oh, you'll see." Pacifica puts her homework in her backpack in the living room and then follows an excited- almost _giddy_ \- man out to the garage and he grabs a blindfold and holds it out to her. "Put this on."

She gives him a skeptical look, but at the pure excitement in his demeanor causes her to sigh in defeat and tie it around her eyes. "Where're we going?"

"Why would I tell you when I had you put a blindfold on?" He asks as he buckles her in.

She silently agrees with that reasoning and listens to him get into the front seat and start the car. "Buckle up."

"Oh, right," he grunts and puts his seat belt on.

 _Geez, how'd he survive when he was alone?_ Pacifica wonders.

Pacifica listens hard to the outside of the car so that she can hear the gravel crunching under the tires until they get to the smoother road that leads to the town. She feels a little apprehensive and tries not to let her mind to go to irrational things, but they do. What if Stanford and Stanley don't want to deal with her anymore and are _excited_ to get rid of her and drop her off at some orphanage or something of the sort? Maybe he'll drive past the town and go somewhere to dump her? What did she do to be abandoned? Did McGucket feel the same way? Did Wendy and Soos? Did they all think that she was a burden and thought getting rid of her was what was best.

The car pulls to a stop and Stan calls, "Don't take off your blindfold just yet."

"Okay," she murmurs while trying to keep the trembling out of her voice.

Stanley helps her out of the car and then puts a firm hand on her shoulder. "Alright, you're gonna have to step up, there's a curb right here."

"Where are we?" She asks, hearing the usual sounds of the town.

"Hold your horses," he replies. Soon she hears a bell that signals that they're entering some sort of establishment that could be anything really- luckily she got over the sounds of the bell within the first month of staying with the Pines, but it's still one of her least favorite sounds in the world. Next sounds the sound of things being hit and people fighting. Suddenly she's stopped and his hand is no longer on her shoulder which makes her panic a little and a small whimper manages to escape her lips. "Alright, take the blindfold off."

She takes it off and is blinded immediately by light, but after her eyes adjust she sees that they're in a boxing gym. There are a few people working on the punching bags and a couple of adults going at it in the ring. She hasn't taken much interest in boxing, but she's fairly familiar with it- she watches it with Stanford every once. It still baffles her mind why they are here- maybe one of the professional boxers were around and he wanted to take her to a match.

It isn't until he sees that he has pink boxing gloves and head guard that she realizes that he's brought her here to teach her how to box.

"Uuuum... Papa Stan? What are we doing here?" She asks, hesitant to participate in something as physically damaging as boxing.

"This is the more fun part of your lessons when it comes to you learning about the stuff that goes on around this town."

"I-I dunno, I'm not really all into fighting people," she murmurs.

"C'mon, Pep, after that incident I can't just leave ya defenseless. I gotta teach ya _something_ so you don't end up helpless when you're backed into a corner."

She bites her bottom lip and remembers last week's incident and rubs her ribs unconsciously where there are still bruises. "A-alright, fine... I'll do it."


	11. Chapter 11

HAT: Today's not a day to really be all that funny- at least after the news I got today. I'm just not in the mood. So- uh- review if you want- I don't care.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls nor its characters. I own the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 _-A Few Weeks Earlier-_

 _"Pep! Come help me restock the shelves," Wendy calls._

 _Pacifica looks up from her Gamegirl after pausing the game and looks at the small pile of boxes and decides that she can spare a few minutes- the video game universe would survive without her. "Okay."_

 _She gets up and sets the Gamegirl on the counter as she walks over to Wendy as she grabs a box and goes towards the shelves. Pacifica opens one of the boxes and sees a large amount of bobble heads so she automatically drags the box toward the shelves that she knows the bobble heads go near the front. Normally she stays at the cash register with Wendy or stocks things in the back to avoid the glares of the people that come in from town, but since they hardly come out to the Mystery Shack, she sees no point in hiding in the place that she's living anymore._

 _As she stacks the bobble heads she hears the door open and keeps going like she doesn't feel uncomfortable not knowing who's behind her._

 _"Hey, isn't that Pacifica Northwest?" A young woman asks, not realizing that she isn't as good at whispering as she thinks that she is._

 _Apparently no one in their conversation can_ whisper _properly because the next voice- the voice of a young man- replies, "Oh, she's not a Northwest anymore. Apparently she went as mad as Old Man McSuckit and got rid of her."_

 _Pacifica grits her teeth at the insult toward the man that saved her life. She can handle insults towards herself- a good portion of the time- but she's never been good at controlling herself when someone talks bad about someone that she cares about- for example when she heard a servant talk bad about her dear grandfather she yelled at them and tried to hurt them as best as she_ _could being the small four year old that she was. She had to get pulled off and disciplined by her grandfather._

 _"Maybe she's part of the new display," another male voice says._

 _"That's kinda mean," a younger male voice says._

 _"Who cares?" the first young man's voice says._

Just keep stacking bobble heads, don't listen to them, _she thinks, but it gets her nowhere in not letting her temper boil._

 _"Well, she's right there, at_ least _stop talking like she isn't," the younger males voice replies._

 _"Fine, then let's talk about McSuckit," The first young man's voice says._

 _"But-"_

 _"I mean, who has a raccoon wife anyway?"_

 _"You think he does it with the raccoon?"_

 _"Ew, guys, that's disgusting," the girl squeals._

 _"Shut up!"_

 _Pacifica stiffens at the realization that she said that out loud. She is use to most of her comments staying in her head and not making it out of her mouth when she's not in the junkyard or in the Shack after hours so this is a little new for her._

 _The group is looking at her now with the two young men looking at her in distaste, the girl looking at her in confusion, and the younger boy- about her age with shaggy black hair and hazel eyes- looks at her warily like there's something to be afraid of or something. She doesn't have anything to threaten anyone with anymore, but she knows that some still fear her because of the power she had because of her parents, but most took to making her life miserable._

 _"What'd you say?" The first young man- who has slicked back dirty blond hair and unnaturally bright blue eyes asks._

 _She clenches her hands and straightens up to try and not seem like she's terrified of these people- especially this one with the electric blue eyes. "I said shut up. You have no right to talk bad about people that you know nothing about."_

 _The blue eyed teenager straightens up and glares at her. "Why do you care,_ Northwest _?"_

 _"I'm not a Northwest and McGucket is a good man who doesn't deserve your ridicule," she states as she glares back._

 _"You were singing a different tune about him before you went insane," he growls in an animalistic way._

 _"Stop," the girl begs._

 _"Dude, she's just a kid, leave her alone," the other young man- this one has black hair and green eyes and looks like the young boy so she can assume that they are brothers- says, his eyes wary now._

 _"No, if she wants to try and mess with the big dogs than let her." She stays quiet and watches their exchange with a bit of wariness herself- obviously this blue eyed young man has something about him that makes even his- if she had to guess- friends are a bit scared of him. He turns to her and smirks in a way that both makes her blood both boil and run cold at the same time. "So, Northwest, got a problem with me making fun of a man that sleeps with raccoons?"_

 _She clenches her teeth. "Yeah, I do!"_

 _"Hey! Is there a problem here?"_

 _The group in front of her looks behind her and she turns to find Stanley standing there with his back straight and shoulders back and his cane held in a way that can quickly make it into a weapon in less than a split second. His brown eyes are hard and jaw is set in an angry way. It's intimidating to say the least and the fact that he's an adult that could call all of their parents was enough to make them back down._

 _"We're good," the black haired boy assures and then elbows the blond one. "Right, Dan?"_

 _Dan nods. "We were just leaving."_

 _They start walking out and the young boy stands there with his regretful emerald eyes on her as if to apologize for what his group had said._

 _"Travis, c'mon!" The black haired boy calls._

 _Travis turns and jogs out of the Shack without a word._

 _Pacifica doesn't realize that her muscles were tense until they finally relax when she's sure that they're gone. Her body trembles a little as the adrenaline that managed to get into her system gradually calms down as the seconds tick by._

 _"You alright there, Pep?" Stanley asks with concerned brown eyes._

 _"Yeah, I'm fine, it was no big deal, really," she lies, her voice gaining almost a haughty tone to it._

 _He observes her for a few more seconds before ruffling her hair with a grin. "That's my girl! Tough as nails!"_

 _She smiles a little at the blatant acceptance that he's shown towards her as a family member. It's relieving to have so much acceptance from her_ family _in her life unlike before. The acceptance of others she could live without, but the people that's cared for her- in their own weird ways- are important to her. She wants to make them proud- even Stanford._

 _After several more boxes she's done restocking everything form bobble heads to "toys" for the children. She goes to play on her Gamgirl again when she notices the date on the calendar and frowns. It's not quite that time, but it's getting there despite her how she wishes that wouldn't be the case. She has to go out and get one thing- a crucial thing._

 _"Can I go to the store?"_

 _"Why? What do they have there that I don't have here?" Stanley demands._

 _She points to the calendar hanging on a nearby wall. "What time is it going to be soon?"_

 _He blushes in realization and digs into his pockets and hands over the money. "I thought you had all of that..."_

 _"I do, but I have to buy the painkillers," she replies as she walks towards the door._

 _"Maybe you should have Soos take you?"_

 _"I'll go visit McGucket and have him walk me back if it makes you feel any better."_

 _She doesn't give him any time to reply and walks out of the Shack. She takes longer route because the route that she usually takes is the one that_ everyone _takes whenever they're walking and she doesn't want to take a chance and run into the group that was in the Shack not too long ago._

 _Luckily for her she makes it to the store and buys her painkillers without much hassle from the rest of the townsfolk so she begins her walk to the junkyard with the bag at hand. As she walks she wonders what she's going to eat tonight. It could range from anything home cooked to some take-out but either way she'll be happy with what her guardians' pick._

 _"Hey, Northwest!"_

Oh, no _, she thinks as she stutters to a stop. She mentally scolds herself for even_ thinking _about turning to see who it is when she knows that it's this Dan character that was at the Shack before. So without a second thought she breaks into a jog to warm herself up a little bit before she goes into a full on sprint. Now this teen is at least a good foot taller than her and has longer legs so that means that if he's faster, but if she manages to stay just a bit ahead of him she has a chance of putting distance between them when he gets tired which means no looking back._

 _That is not the case._

 _Before she even rounds the corner she comes up on he's right in front of her with a devilish grin on his face and an evil glint in his neon blue eyes. "Boo."_

 _She jumps back and automatically her hand reaches into her pocket for pepper spray and the pocketknife that she_ usually _carries with her when she walks around town- upon the Stans and McGucket's request- only to find that it isn't there._

Crap _, she thinks as she tries to put some distance between the two of them. "What do you want?"_

 _"What do_ I _want?" He asks in a mocking tone. "Oh, nothing much. I just want to continue our little conversation that we were having earlier."_

 _"I don't want to talk to you."_

 _"Oh, c'mon! I'm a great guy once you get to know me," he assures her in a way that is anything_ but _reassuring._

 _"Just leave me alone!"_

 _Dan smirks. "You're the one that wanted to play with the big dogs, kid, and your wish is my command."_

 _He grabs her arm and yanks the bag out of her hand and pulls out the contents. "Painkillers? How convenient."_

 _She tries to escape his iron grip as he drags her toward an alley, but only manages to give herself rub burn in her desperate attempts. "Let go of me!" She bites her bottom lip as if this will give her the strength to escape, but when she continues to fail she figures the best thing that she can do is yell for help. "Somebody help me!"_

 _"No one's gonna help you," he sneers and tightens his grip n her arm painfully. "No one cares for you so no one's gonna stop me."_

 _She trembles in front of him and knows that what he says is true. No one outside of her adoptive family gives two craps about what will happen to her- that she knows of at least- and so she knows that even if she gets someone's attention they'll either ignore it or try and get someone else that doesn't care about her to help. Either way she isn't getting_ any _help unless someone_ actually _has a good conscious regarding the former Northwest._

 _He twists her arm behind her back painfully and throws the painkillers onto the ground and then uses the newly freed hand to yank her hair and slam her into a wall with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs._

 _"P-please, stop," she begs as he pulls her head back to slam her into the wall again._

 _His eyes_ literally _begin to glow and he gives an evil smile. "I don't think I will."_

 _And then she's slammed into the wall and kneed in the back._

 _-Time Skip (I'm horrible for doing this to her)-_

 _Pacifica Elise Pines had_ never _been in so much pain before without having bones broken. He had beaten her until she was near unconsciousness and the sky was dark and after that he picked up and threw the painkillers to her with a sneer and left with unnatural speed. She fought as hard as she could the entire time and it left her in utter exhaustion. She doesn't know_ what _he was, but she knows that he isn't human. No matter, the pain was all she could focus on. He had no mercy and had such an immense joy in his eyes whenever she cried out in pain. It was almost like her suffering fueled him._

 _She grabs the painkillers and pushes herself up with every ounce of strength she can muster and ends up backing up against the wall behind her with drops of her blood on it. Her legs tremble at the new weight, but she convinces herself that she's been through worse and that she is Pacifica and nothing can hold her down or hold her back. Too bad her body didn't agree with her mind because she stumbles through the abandon streets in the middle of the night going towards the closest place where she can get help and that's the junkyard._

Damn it, _she thinks as she trips over her own two feet. She struggles to get up again, but her body can't handle anymore and begs for rest._

 _It feels like hours later before she hears voices._

 _"Pacifica!" That was McGucket._

 _"Pacifica, where are you?!" Stanford._

 _There's no call from Stanley which leaves her to think that he's moving around and looking for her- possibly frantically. She lifts her head so that her jaw is resting on the concrete and looks round for anything that will help her make them find her as her throat is horse from trying to get the attention of anyone. She finds a broken bottle and grabs it after a few seconds of trying to get her muscles to cooperate with her and finally slams the bottle on the concrete to make noise._

 _"Pacifica?" Stanley wasn't too far from her. She hears him walking towards the noise and then sees him a few seconds later with an alarmed look on his face. "Pacifica! What happened?"_

 _She tilts her head with a groan and rests her cheeks on the ground. Stanley picks her up gently, but it still brings pain to her entire body. She involuntarily lets out a whimper and buries her face in his shoulder in false hope of escaping the pain._

 _Two others come towards them and there's complete silence for a moment or two._

 _"Damn it," Stanford growls at seeing the twelve-year-old in this state._

 _For once neither Stanley nor McGucket scold him for his language- which might be influencing hers. Stanley puts her in the back of the car when they reach it and has McGucket make sure that she's buckled in before they start driving with Stanford speeding a bit more than necessary._

 _"Where're we going?" Pacifica asks with a hoarse voice._

 _"To the hospital," Stanley answers._

 _She winces and shakes her head. "No, it's not that bad."_

 _"P'cifica, yer hurt and need medic'l attention," McGucket tries to reason._

 _She gets looks from everyone in the car- briefly one from the driver through the rearview mirror- and she sits up despite her tired body's protest. "See? It's not that bad... Just tired."_

 _"Why do you insist when you look like this? It's the best plan to make sure you're okay," Stanford insists._

 _"I hate hospitals," she states plainly without feeling the need to elaborate why. "Just... please, don't take me there."_

 _Stanford shares a look with his twin before heaving a sigh and then turning around and driving towards the Shack again. McGucket nervously babbles in attempt to keep Pacifica's mind off the pain and every now and again when they hit an inevitable bump in the road asks if she's alright. She repeatedly assures him that she is fine, but she can still_ feel _his worry. The tension in the car is almost tangible and it makes her uncomfortable, but it is still more preferable than having to go to the hospital._

 _As soon as they reach the Shack she's taken inside and Stanford takes her to the bathroom and has her sit on the toilet while he looks for the first-aid kit is._

 _"Alright, take off your shirt," he orders like it's as normal as telling her to hand him the remote._

 _"_ Excuse me? _" She asks with a little distain slipping into her voice._

 _He sends a brief glare to her and then goes back to searching for the first-aid kit while speaking with an indifferent tone to his voice. "You didn't want to go to the hospital so I have to do it."_

 _She pouts. "I don't wanna."_

 _"It's either this or you go to the hospital and- to be honest- I don't care if you're buck ass naked, I just want to see your injuries to be sure we don't_ have _to take you to the_ _hospital."_

 _Without another complaint- out loud- she takes off her shirt and adjusts her sports bra before hugging her shirt around her stomach uncomfortably. She didn't even like getting changed in front of_ women _so to be in front of a man is some other level of uncomfortable for her. Oh, there were definitely complaints running through her mind- a few of them having choice words that would get her a mouthful of soap in a heartbeat if she said them aloud._

 _He finds the first-aid kit and opens it to check the contents and make sure that everything is in the box before he turns and looks at Pacifica with a deadpanned look. "Pacifica, if you don't move that damn shirt I'll cut your hair in your sleep."_

 _Unlike his brother this man would probably go through with at least two-thirds of the threats he makes which is the sole reason why she sets the shirt in her lap and sits there with her hands in her lap. He observes her torso carefully and finds bruises formed and still forming, but what briefly takes his attention are the old scars on her body._

 _"Are you gonna get this over with or what?" She demands._

 _Stanford kneels in front of her and cleans any cuts on her- mostly on her arms that she used to guard herself- and then wraps them in bandages since there was only one bandaid. For several minutes while he takes care of her fairly minor injuries and checks for a concussion there is nothing but silence, but then he breaks it._

 _"I take it McGucket knows about the abuse," he states blatantly and factually. "Are you going to tell Stan?"_

 _She scoffs. "Yeah, right. He'd probably react terribly."_

 _"He has an idea of it," Standorf informs._

 _"Really? How?"_

 _"Your first week when you constantly jumped at the sound of the bell. He almost took it out, but you needed to get over it."_

 _He takes out the only bandaid and puts it on her cheek gently. "Try and be more careful, Pep. You had us worried."_

 _"I'm sorry," she murmurs._

 _He sighs and stands up. "Put your shirt back on, you're done, but you've got a concussion so you're gonna have to stay awake- got it?"_

 _"Got it," the blond murmurs as she pulls on her shirt._

 _The two walk out into the living room where Stanley pauses in his pacing._

 _"It was that boy from this afternoon, wasn't it?"_

 _She remembers his eyes and smile an a chill goes down her spine. What if she told him it was Dan and he went to hurt any of them or her again?_ But what if you don't tell and he does it again anyway?

 _"Yes," she murmurs before telling them what had been odd about him from his glowing eyes- where as before they were just bright to the point they looked like contacts- to the incredible speed. She may have just started learning about the paranormal not to long ago, but this was_ not _something that she ever covered. "What is he?"_

 _Stanley frowns and shares a glance with the other two men. "I don't know."_


	12. Chapter 12

HAT: Three days... Not even by the time that you read this so basically about two days before the wait is over and we can watch Gravity Falls _A Tale of Two Stans_. We'll continue this later, for now read.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls nor its characters. I own the plot and OCs.**

* * *

Ever since that incident Stanldy had her boxing at _least_ twice a week with him (sometimes up to seven days in a row before he gave her a break) and insists that she doesn't miss a day of track practice and tries to get her to compete in everything from sprints to cross-country. The next day of school no one really showed concern except for Mr. Roberts- her Aerospace teacher- and the librarian. She'd catch Travis- Travis Woods, she found out his name was- glancing at her every now and then with a guilty look on his face, but other than improving her physical prowess most attention was given to Stanford who _refused to eat._

Stanford had all but locked himself in his room and started pouring over research with the information that he had over Dan to find out _what_ he is. He would often ask her for more information than she could really give and wouldn't eat because he was so engrossed by his research. That'd been a few months ago and now they were a few days from Christmas break. It took McGucket and Pacifica's puppy-dog eyes, two buckets of water, and a rolled up sleeve from Stanley in order to get the man to stop long enough to eat an entire meal. Most of the time they manage to get him to take a few bites of food, but that's about it.

It irritated her whenever she entered his room with a plate of food in her hand to see that the last plate brought in hadn't even been touched and she would snap at him about it which would make him take a bite and make some sarcastic comment before dismissing her and going back to research.

 _I hope he finds something soon,_ Pacifica thinks as she listens to McGucket trying to talk some sense into Stanford in the back. He was starting to waste away and- to her surprise- this happens every time he finds something interesting, new, dangerous, or all of the above. _Funny, I kinda miss his annoying, pointless questions..._

And this timing is just _perfect_ since Dipper and Mabel are scheduled to come to live with them _today_ while he was in this funk _again_. While she wasn't looking forward to having to deal with the younger set of Pines twins since their friendship wasn't exactly solidified she didn't want them to miss time with their other grunkle just because he's been obsessed over figuring our what she got attacked by- someone that turned out to be a something that isn't even on the internet from what she can see other than a vampire.

She shakes this from her mind when Stanley walks in with his cane and eyepatch to show that he'd been scamming- er- entertaining the tourists for at least the past hour.

"What're you doing here, don't you have track practice?"

" _Yes_ , but Uncle Stan's locked up in his room and McGucket's trying to talk some sense into him since he can't drive me," Pacifica answers, though whether or not she goes to track won't bother her- it'll just bother her coach who will run her to death the next practice.

Stanley groans and rubs his temples. "Alright, go have Soos take you to track and by the time you get back Dipper and Mabel will be in. You _did_ clean your room like I asked, right?"

"Yeah, sure," she replies before hopping out of the chair. "Where's Soos?"

"I think fixing the heater."

She leaves her guardian and searches for Soos. She'll be about fifteen minutes late for practice, but it's better than missing out all together. Her coach would understand that there were problems- hopefully- so he won't do anything this time like make her run an extra lap or something like that.

"Hey, Soos!"

"Yeah, Pep?" He calls and sticks his head into the hallway.

"Could you take me to track practice? Uncle Stan's busy again."

He nods. "Sure, dude, no problem."

"Thanks," she replies and grabs her sports bag and walks out of the Shack to Soos' truck.

The drive is filled mostly with Soos' chatter and the rap song that he currently has an obsession with. It suddenly occurs to Pacifica (and the writer) that she often doesn't do the chattering (in her mind (not the author's sometimes)), but instead is the one listening to the chattering. She might want to engage in conversation more often, but considering the fact that she interacts with people more than Stanford, she's going to take that as a small victory.

"Alright, Pep, knock 'em dead! Oh, and call if you need a ride home."

"Sure thing," she replies and power walks to the track.

"What took _you_ so long?" the coach asks.

"Sorry, Coach, my ride had some problems," she half-lies.

He sighs and runs a hand through his jet black hair. "Alright, Pines, give me five laps around the track."

She drops her bag and starts her running. She likes running- it's the only reason she stays on the track team. It clears her mind because all she has to focus on is the movement of her body and how long until the finish and how badly she wants water. She doesn't have the time to think about her troubles most of the time. Sprints are the best to clear her mind, but they are too short and cross-country is too long so she had enough time to think about everything. Still, it's great.

What's even better than running at times is boxing. Any frustrations she has she can channel into her fight and get all the anger and negative emotions out of her until she's too exhausted to even think about it. Win or lose, the outcome of her state of mind is the same- exhausted to the point sleep and water are all that she can think about. It lasts even longer than running and that's one of the main reasons she sticks with it... the other is so that she won't have to feel as hopeless as she did when she was attacked by Dan.

Practice is over a lot quicker than she expects because when she finishes on her fifth lap the coach says it's time to go home. After calling home she goes to sit out in front of the school and wait for someone to come get her. It's more than likely going to be Soos because Stanford has the twins there now- she heard Mabel in the background of the phone call- and he has to try and get Stanford to get out of his room.

 _Maybe I can skip seeing them and go to McGucket's or something?_ Pacifica thinks when she sees Soos' truck.

" _No going out without someone with you anymore._ " Stanley and McGucket said that while Stanford had merely told her to keep her cellphone in her pocket as that night it was left at home on the couch on the charger.

Automatically that answer was no since they didn't want her going to the junkyard anymore, but McGucket often times comes by so she has a little hope.

"Dipper and Mabel are at the Shack," Soos informs.

She nods. "Yeah, I know. I heard Mabel while I was on the phone with Papa Stan."

He glances at her. "You alright, Pep? You sound a little sad."

Pacifica glances at the man and sighs, knowing that if there's anyone she can say anything to and get sound advice from over 50% of the time it's Soos. Sure, Wendy's good at listening, but her advice isn't always sound (about 30% of the time), McGucket's great at listening, keeping it to himself, and giving advice, but his moments of sanity bring that down to about 40% of the time, Stanley's answers more often than not lead to punching someone in the face, but he keeps the information to himself at least, and Stanford is able to keep information to himself- like how she was abused before she was found by McGucket (she did tell Stanley eventually and Stanford had to hold him back from going to his car and punching her "parents" in the face) and he will more often than not give sound advice, but it's stated in a way that makes her have to think about what he's said until she figures it out. Soos is her best option.

"I'm not all that sure I want to see them... I mean, I know we kinda started getting along before I disappeared, but I don't know exactly how excited either of them would be to find out I'm their new cousin."

He stays quiet for a few moments before he shrugs. "Dude, no one ever said making friends was easy. I had my doubts about you when I first saw you around the Shack, but then you grew on me. There's no doubt in my mind that's what you'll do with them."

She smiles at him sadly. "You sure?"

"No doubt about it!"

She wishes that she had that confidence. Still, there's nothing more to do than to wait for the car ride to be over and to flee to Stanford's room and try to talk him into eating when she enters the house. Both of them are in the house and there'll be no way to avoid them so- despite what she wants- she might as well face them.

 _Yeah, just face them when you get there!_ Pacifica thinks, trying to bring her courage up as the truck comes to a halt in front of the Mystery Shack. She grabs her bag and hops out of the car with her mind racing over scenarios that she isn't prepared to go through. Any number of them could happen and she's leaning more toward them rejecting her right away than accepting her.

She opens the door and walks through the gift shop and walking directly into the house part of the building. It's better to just walk in and at least let them know she's there now instead of sneaking in through the window and them finding out later- despite how tempting it sounds to her at the moment.

Immediately upon entering the living room she sees Dipper and Mabel Pines.

* * *

HAT: I _really_ hope that _A Tale of Two Stans_ does not have anything in common with _A Tale of Two Sons_ because we all know how that ends. If you don't know what it is and aren't going to play it or aren't in the middle of playing it (SPOILERS IF YOU ARE), it's a video game about two brothers that go on a quest to save their father, but the older brother dies near the end and the younger is left to go back alone to give their father the cure he needs... yeah...

Alonzo: Hey-

HAT: Wrong fanfic.

Alonzo: So this isn't-

HAT: No... Is Lazy Susan in there?

Lazy Susan: *walks in* Hi everybody!

HAT: Oh, no, what've I done? *hands head.

Alonzo: *sneaks out*

Lazy Susan: *pokes camera lens* Is this where the little people are? Hi, little people!

HAT: *gently moves Lazy Susan away from camera* Just repeat after me, okay?

Lazy Susan: Okay!

HAT: Please, review for HAT.

Lazy Susan: What hat?

HAT: I-I'm HAT.

Lazy Susan: Silly girl, you're a person! *shakes head* Silly girl.

HAT: *falls over and groans* I give up...


	13. Chapter 13

HAT: Here's another chapter in celebration for Gravity Falls _finally_ coming back on (the day after). Soos?

Soos: Enjoy yourselves, dudes!

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls we wouldn't have waited this long for the new episode of Gravity Falls... okay, maybe I might've, but the point is I don't own it, just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

"Pacifica?" Dipper asks while Mabel- like Pacifica _should have_ expected- runs over and glomps the girl.

"G-get off!" Pacifica grunts while pushing the brunette girl away from herself, uncomfortable with hugs- she didn't really give or receive them other than McGucket and even then they don't hug _that_ often.

 _Wait, did I_ grunt _just then?_ Pacifica thinks. She's gotten way too used to living with a bunch of guys- maybe it _is_ a good thing Mabel is here? Wendy's femininity can help her only so much and she was a tomboy living with four males to begin with.

Mabel pouts. "I just wanted to say hi and welcome to the family. Grunkle Stan told us that he adopted you- but he didn't tell us why."

Pacifica rolls her eyes and walks toward the back. "I'm gonna get Uncle Stan."

"He's in the kitchen," Mabel informs.

The blond rushes to the kitchen to see if it's true and the stoic man was finally out of his dungeon, but is sadly disappointed when she sees Stanley. That disappointment is quickly lessened when she sees the amount of food he's making after the realization of how hungry she is.

"That's not the Stan I was talking about," Pacifica informs as she walks from the kitchen and goes toward the back to get the other Stan. She knocks on his door until she gets a reply and walks in to see him still doing research. "Uncle Stan, Dipper and Mabel are here."

He glances up at her. "Really? I thought they weren't scheduled to come for a couple of more weeks."

She walks closer to him only to stop at the body odor. "When's the last time you took a bath?!"

"Um..."

She frowns and grabs his arm. "You're gonna stop for a little while, get cleaned up, and sit down and eat dinner- got that?"

"My, aren't we a bit snappy today?" Stanford murmurs.

(A/N: I was watching a lot of DBZ Abridged... Yeah, that might effect my writing just a little)

Pacifica sighs and pushes him against his back as hard as she can towards the entrance of the room, but he's only shifted slightly. "Why are you so heavy?!"

He rolls his eyes. "Well, I'm a grown man that's of a healthy weight, that could be something."

Stanley walks toward the door and leaves Pacifica to fall to the floor and- sadly- she comes face first to his boxers. She makes a face and stands up to shiver at the close call before she glares up at her uncle as he throws his lab coat into a pile of what can be assumed to be dirty clothes that's located in the corner.

 _You'd think he'd be better about washing his clothes,_ Pacifica thinks for a moment. "Do you _ever_ wash your clothes?"

"When I run out," he replies.

She groans and walks out of his room while looking at her wrist watch. "Shower and if you're not grabbing a plate of food in twenty minutes while looking and _smelling_ clean, I'm taking all of your research and _burning_ it."

Brown eyes narrow at her and there's a quiet growl. "You wouldn't?"

She narrows her own icy blue eyes at him. "Try me."

"You wouldn't burn all the research I did on that boy that attacked you- you're just as curious as me!" He snaps.

Pacifica glances at her watch. "Nineteen minutes. And you can _bet_ I'll get there first."

Before she started on track she was definitely fast- being chased by raccoons was _really_ good for workouts- but he has longer limbs and kind of already knew how to exert himself to get things he wants like the food off of the table (one other reason why she definitely doesn't care about how she eats anymore) and he also took a lot of the seats she wanted- another reason why she's turned into a tomboy (though hygiene is still a high priority along with making her hair presentable) so her plan involved being in his room in fifteen minutes and take the research until after he eats all of his dinner.

"Fine," he grunts and leaves his room after her.

"Thank you," she says and hurries towards the kitchen only to see a shirtless Stanley.

"Damn it, 'Lee, put a shirt on!" Stanford shouts while he walks toward the bathroom with a towel thrown over his shoulder.

It's not like she isn't used to seeing either of them without their shirt- morning routines tend to bump into one another- but the first few times were more than a shock and she ended up going to school with the images popping up in her mind at the worst of times- definitely not of her own free will. After about two months of this she started to not even bat an eye at either man with their shirt off. It was just another part of life- not a pleasant one, but an expected one.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Stanley yells, but grabs his wife beater to put on.

Pacifica notices the sweat stains on it and makes a face. "Ewww, a clean one!"

"Then _wait_ ," the man snaps.

 _How have I survived living with these two?_ Pacifica wonders at the realization that she's not effected at all about shirtless old men and she's started to grunt. _Maybe it's a good thing Mabel's here now. She's a whole lot more feminine and she has_ hygiene _and can help me wash clothes- or better yet get Stans to wash their own shit._

 _Don' curse, P'cifica, that's not ladylike!_

 _The what?!_ Pacifica thinks when she hears McGucket's voice in her head.

 _I created me a telep'thy device!_

 _Oh... get out of my head,_ Pacifica thinks.

"Why're you just standing there with a confused look?" Stanford asks before he freezes and then facepalms. "You have McGucket in your head, too, don't you?"

"Yep," Pacifica groans.

"Ah! Get outta my head!" Dipper cries from the living room while McGucket cackles.

Stanford narrows his eyes. "Okay, we need to destroy that device before he-"

"'Ford! How embarrassin'!" McGucket cackles. "Blackmail!"

Pacifica blinks and then glances at the usually stoic man whose face is now pale and panicked. "Whaaaat's he talking about?"

" _Nothing!_ He's talking about nothing," Stanford insists as he rushes into the living room with light blush on his cheeks. "Gimme that!"

"This is not gonna end well," Stanley murmurs as he walks beside Pacifica to see what damage may happen.

When they enter they find Stanley, Dipper, and Mabel all chasing McGucket who has what looks to be a regular helmet on his head (over his hat since she can see part of it sticking out in the back). McGucket runs around like a raccoon- and the people of Gravity Falls would know that with the infestation- and this makes it harder for them to catch him (the raccoons in Gravity Falls have learned more than enough evasive maneuvers (some thanks to McGucket)) even Stanford who has caught more than his fair share of raccoons since she's been here.

"'Ford, did ya really take ba-"

" _Gimme that!_ " Stanford shouts in rage.

 _Don't think anything,_ do not _think anything,_ Pacifica thinks over and over as she watches everyone else try to catch McGucket with mild amusement.

 _You'll think something at some point!_ McGucket cackles in her head while he continues to cackle at the others inability to catch him.

 _Shut up!_

 _I already found out about yer lil' crush on-_

"Alright, gimme that helmet!" Pacifica shrieks as she flies forward with her hands outstretched to try and grab him.

"Never!" He cries.

For the next twenty minutes they chase him around the living room only to have him run right out the door and- most likely- towards the city. With all the new information- or rather- _blackmail_ he has on them they feel they have no choice, but to get the helmet and do something to get him to forget all the information- Stanley's suggestion was knocking him out and making him believe it was a dream which became the unanimous choice.

But first thing's first. They need to eat.

"Pass the salt," Stanley grunts.

"Like you need it," Pacifica scoffs as she picks up the salt and places it far away from either man.

Stanford narrows his eyes. "Our health is our business."

Pacifica refuses to answer and continues to eat her food in silence while trying to ignore Dipper's staring the entire meal. She'll deal with him later because food and destroying that helmet were kind of important at the moment.

Stanford reaches over for the salt anyway and Pacifica quickly picks it up and puts it on the chair between her legs- thankfully she's wearing jeans- and eats while trying to look as innocent as possible. He growls and then goes back to eating his food in defeat.

"Nice one," Mabel whispers.

Pacifica doesn't respond aloud, still not quite comfortable with the girl, but more comfortable with her than her brother. Instead she gives a small nod and then stuffs her mouth full of food.

After the food is finished and leftovers are put away they huddle for their plan to get McGucket and the helmet.

"Alright, we'll get into two groups and go out to find him," Stanley says.

Stanley nods. "I'll take- uh- Dipper and Mabel while you take Pacifica?"

"Okay, then, let's go," Dipper says, his brown eyes on fire with determination.

And then the five separated to catch McGucket and destroy his helmet.

* * *

HAT: I don't care if Stanford is Stanley and Stanley is Stanford- I'm _not_ going back and changing everything (she said and ended up doing it anyway)! This story is going to stay false in who is who in the Stan department from beginning to end... And... OHMYGOSH THATWASSUCHAGOODEPISODEANDIJUSTKNEWTHATSTANFORD(the real one)WASABUTT (even if it was just a little)! *takes a deep breath*

McGucket: Ya done havin' yer ment'l breakdown?

HAT: *pauses and then nods* Yeah, I think I am (for now).

McGucket: Ya sure?

HAT: *shakes head while trying not to spasm with excitement*

McGucket: Let it out.

HAT: *gives incredulous look* You sure?

McGucket: *takes a few steps back* Um... outside... with 'Ford and 'Lee and them.

HAT: Okay. *walks out jittery* Can't wait for the next one...

McGucket: Review, y'all!

*high-pitched scream of both excitement and rage*

Stans: I didn't do it!

(HAT: ... I don't know if I'm happy, disappointed, sad, or what, I just know that the next episode is not coming soon enough.)


	14. Chapter 14

HAT: Oh, my goodness... I just realized how long this story is gonna be after rewriting not even the entire plot. I didn't even mean for Dan to be anything more than a bully that wouldn't be used again unless he's a background character. Now I gotta take him int account... this would've been a whole lot shorter if I hadn't had done that... enjoy, I suppose.

 **Disclaimer: Despite wishing, I don't own Gravity Falls or it's characters... but on the bright side, one of the future episodes comes out on my birthday! YAY! Thank you Alex Hirsch for the fantastic birthday present!**

* * *

Three hours. That's how long they've been searching for McGucket around the entire town of Gravity Falls. Every time they even got close to McGucket he would scurry off with a maniacal cackle and leave them running after him until he manages to lose them using the skills he learned from the raccoons. That stupid helmet gave him the advantage and not only that, but since it was night, their thoughts were pretty much the only ones that were around to hear so that made it _that much more_ difficult to catch the old man.

"We need a better plan than rushing him," Stanford mutters through pants after the last chase.

"Yeah- if only we could make our minds go blank or something," Pacifica mutters with her arm crossed over her chest with one hand covering her nose as he's still yet to take a shower and glaring at the concrete under her feet.

Stanford snaps his fingers. "I got it! Think like an animal!"

Pacifica tilts her head in confusion. "Huh?"

"See, McGucket can distinguish our thoughts from everything else's because we're hellbent on getting that helmet. If we were to think like an animal- probably the only thing that he won't run from- then we can get close enough to get him."

The blond nods. "Yeah, but..."

"What?"

"How do animals think?"

He blanches and then shrugs. "I don't know... how to get food?"

Pacifica sighs. "Great... Why don't we come up with something else? Do we know how reading people's thoughts work? Can he only read one at a time and does sound have an effect on what he pays attention to? Like talking?"

"That's a good question. We'll try something like that..." Stanford mutters as he scratches his chin in thought. "You could run around screaming in your head and I'll try and think like some insignificant tourist and sneak up on him, but we absolutely can't break our trains of thought. You can't think about me or this plan and I can't think about him or anything that could link me to you or myself."

"Basically it has to be flawless."

"Precisely. We _cannot_ let him find out anything else for blackmail," he grumbles while looking around for said old man.

"What does he have on you?"

"What does he have on you?"

"... Touché."

"Let's go," he sighs.

It takes a good twenty minutes of merely roaming around to hear McGucket's cackling laughter. At the sound they share a glance and nod. This had to be absolutely _flawless_ and Pacifica would rather lose Sammy than have her crush be known. _Ever_.

 _Okay,_ Pacifica thinks before she runs the opposite direction and goes a few blocks- in hopes that distance is a factor in thoughts. _WHERE'S MCGUCKET?! I swear I heard him laughing- SO WHERE IS HE?! I promise WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM! HE'S GONNA WISH THAT HE NEVER BUILT THAT HELMET!_

The cackling stops immediately after that thought, but she- instead of thinking about how this might work- thinks, _It stopped- he must be close by! MCGUCKET I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! GET OVER HERE OR I'LL TAKE YOUR RACCOON WIFE AND LOCK HER IN A CAGE!_

"No! Not ma raccoon wife!"

"Ha! So you _are_ nearby!" Pacifica shouts and starts jogging towards where McGucket is, making sure she takes great attention in searching for him through the streets where she's walking. _COME HERE MCGUCKET! I WANT THAT HELMET!_

"GAH! I've got a Stan on my back!"

 _Finally_ , Pacifica thinks and rushes towards where the two older men are located. When she gets there she finds Stanford bear hugging McGucket from behind and McGucket trying his best to get away. When she gets closer she comes to realize _why_ he's trying so hard. His scent- which she had thought could not get _any_ worse- had gotten stronger and much worse than it had been previously when they had talked. When she thinks about it, maybe it was Stanford's scent that tipped McGucket off a few times.

She takes a few steps back and covers her nose and mouth with her shirt. "You _need_ a shower when we get home."

"I'm dyin'! Git this stinky thangah sweat away from me!" McGucket pleads.

"Sorry, McGucket, but we gotta get that helmet from you first," Pacifica replies as she walks forward with her hand pressed firmly against her face with her shirt to block the smell of Stanford's sweat.

"Wait!" McGucket pleads, his accent lessening drastically and blue eyes locked on something across the street.

Pacifica turns on her heel and looks to find unnaturally bright blue eyes looking at her with a sadistic grin underneath them. Her heart pounds with fear and adrenaline while her entire body screams at her to run away from the threat.

"What _are_ you?" She whispers.

He turns and walks away with a confident smirk and walks away.

Pacifica trembles with fear when he's out of sight and then shakes herself and clenches her fists. _No, you're not afraid. You're_ not _afraid._

"It's okay to be scared P'cifica," McGucket assures.

She says nothing and tries to blank her thoughts, but the images of Dan taint her mind. She was so helpless back then and now she's trained herself to be better than that- she _should_ be better than that and not been scared anymore.

"McGucket, what'd you hear from him?" Stanford asks with all seriousness.

" _Expers bestia_ ," McGucket whispers.

"What's that mean?" Pacifica demands.

"It's Latin... it means 'dark wanderer,'" Stanford answers with a serious look on his face.

* * *

HAT: Yeah, kind of a short chapter, but give me a break. This is gonna take a while.

Waddles: Oink!

HAT: Awww, you're so cute... for a pig. I mean, seriously, these things will eat _anything_ and run around in their own filth... pretty nasty animals (which is why I don't eat pig's feet, they walk around in some nasty stuff)... but bacon... maaan, bacon...

Mabel: I thought I told you not to talk about bacon in front of Waddles!

HAT: But... it's delicious...

Mabel: *picks up Waddles and walks out*

HAT: Wait! Waddles has to do the thing!

Mabel: *sighs* Fine. *sets Waddles down*

Waddles: *oinks and presses a button that has a large banner that says 'please review' fall from the ceiling*

HAT: Thank you! Bye Waddles, I promise, I'll eat steak tonight.

Waddles: *oinks merrily and is carried away by Mabel*

HAT: *eats a slice of bacon* What? It's technically morning right now. I've got all day to eat bacon.


	15. Chapter 15

HAT: Yay, another chapter! The chapter after this is in progress- hopefully soon to be done- and the other stories are on their way to being complete (eventually). Also, I'm not gonna have any real pairings on here and if I ever do, it's not gonna be Dipcifica- they're family now- and if I do they're gonna be paired with OCs (I dunno about Travis and Pacifica, they might just stay friends until death)... anyway, go on reading!

(Edited! T-T I don't wanna do this anymore, but I'm so far in it, that I have to finish)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls or it's characters, only the plot.**

* * *

Everyone ends up back at the Shack by one in the morning, exhausted beyond belief, but awake nonetheless. Stanford had taken a shower upon _everyone's_ request and they had all eaten a bit more to replenish the energy that they lost hunting for McGucket to destroy the helmet (which they did do). Currently Dipper and Mabel seem confused at the hype in the room while the Stans, McGucket, and Pacifica talk about Dan, a e _xpers bestia_.

"What's going on? Why're you going on about this thing?" Dipper demands at last when he's had enough of being left out in the dark.

"Well..." Stanley starts while glancing at Pacifica.

She glances at the frustrated Dipper and knows how it feels to be left out of something- though her's is more minor than a supernatural being bent on destruction- so she sighs and says, "Go ahead. It's probably a bad idea to leave them out of it."

Stanford clears his throat. "A few months ago Pacifica was attacked by a young man named Dan who has turned out to be a supernatural creature, a _expers bestia_ to be specific, which means lightless beast and from what I can tell he finds joy in the pain of others..."

 _Don't look at me like that_ , the blond girl thinks when she sees the younger set of twins giving her looks of pity.

"I'm so sorry," Mabel breathes.

"Yeah, I didn't know you-"

"Not many know," she interrupts sharply- a bit more than she meant to- and then sighs. "I just don't like talking about it."

"Wow, all of this is a lot to happen in just one day," Mabel notes.

 _They've only been here for one day?_ Pacifica wonders. _Man, it's been a long day._

"You ken say that again," McGucket says.

Pacifica blinks at him before turning to Stanley. "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes, you did," Stanford reassures.

 _The last thing we need is McGucket being a mindreader,_ she thinks as she presses her lips together.

"You three need some sleep," Stanford finally says, leading the three children away from the living room. "Go to bed, you three."

After goodnights were exchanged Dipper goes to his room while Pacifica and Mabel go to the attic. Pacifica wasn't eager to share a room- she never had to before (the shelter is an entirely different situation, however)- and to share it with the overly eager Mabel Pines is something that she is almost positive that she isn't ready for despite taking weeks to try and mentally prepare herself for the inevitable arrival of her "cousins."

Pacifica grabs her pajamas and changes in under ten seconds to the amazement of Mabel. Sharing one bathroom with two men when morning routines bump into each other teaches a girl how to do a lot of things with haste so that there won't be pounding on the door for ten minutes or stealing her food.

"How'd you do that?" The brunette asks.

She shrugs as she puts on her bandana and gets into bed. "I just got changed."

Mabel shrugs and changes to an oversized t-shirt and some shorts before crawling into bed. "Hey, why do you walk barefoot in the house? The floor's really dirty."

"It's cleaner than dirt," Pacifica grunts indifferently as she turns over in her bed and- _oh, dear Lord, I'm turning into Stanford!_ Quickly she sits up to rectify this because she'll be damned if she ends up like Stanford Pines (or Stanley or McGucket, but especially Stanford). "Um... well..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Pacifica looks at Mabel for a long time. This girl was her enemy at one time and her exact opposite- and in a way she still kind of is. This girl looks on the bright side of things, brings smiles to people's faces (willing or not) and does outrageous things because she can and because it's fun and people love her for it. She accepts people without hesitation. Look at the ex-Northwest. She looks at things as how they are and rarely sees anything better at the end of the tunnel, she brings scowls to people's faces just because of who she used to be and smiles when she messes up, and she does everything that she can to not stand out anymore than she can help and they still hate her even if she doesn't do anything anymore. She can't trust anyone outside of her small group because the rest are all out to get her.

 _Maybe... maybe things can be different with Mabel?_ The blond wonders for a moment as she looks at the honest face in front of her. Then she decides to take the leap of faith.

"No, I want to tell you," she assures, gaining a bit more confidence in herself and in Mabel. "I lived with McGucket for a while before I was adopted by Papa Stan."

Mabel makes a confused face. "Who?"

"Um- Stanley."

"Oh, Grunkle Stan," Mabel confirms for herself and then tilts her head. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Pacifica snaps. Mabel makes a surprised face and then the blond sighs. "Sorry... I got disowned. That's why I'm not a Northwest anymore. That's why the town hates me and singles me out, because I don't have the money to back me up anymore."

For several moments it's silent. Pacifica hasn't voiced her problems to anyone else- they just know- so to tell an outsider is something she's surprised that she'd do. _Better she find out now than when we have to go back to school._

"You have me."

"Huh?" Sapphire eyes look into almost amber ones.

The other girl smiles. "We're family now and family sticks together. I've got your back no matter what."

Pacifica stares at Mabel for the longest before she asks, "Why do you accept me so easily? After everything I've ever done to you?"

"I believe in giving people multiple chances... besides, there's something different in your eyes."

"My eyes?" Questions the blue eyed girl.

"Yeah, your eyes used to be guarded back then and had a fake cover in front even though sometimes they would show the real you. Now they're guarded in a different way... I guess because you don't want to get hurt anymore..." She looks ready to say more, but there's a knock on the door and not even a second later it opens to show Stanford.

"I thought I told you two to go to bed?"

"We are in bed," Pacifica replies in her usual smart-alecky way.

He glares. "Alright, then, smart aleck, go to sleep, both of you or I'll have Stanford burn that bear and those stickers."

Neither have to be told twice. Immediately the two curl up under their covers and go to sleep.

* * *

HAT: Sorry that it was so short, but I'll make up for it with the next chapter because it'll be _really_ long... most likely.

Pacifica: You're- like- really gonna put me in that hut with _them?_ It's all small and nasty and dirty. *makes face* Yuck!

HAT: It's not like you're actually doing it.

Pacifica: Yeah, but still. And since when are there two old men named Stan?

HAT: *shrugs* I dunno... how old is Stan?

Pacifica: Like I know.

HAT: Would you please say it?

Pacifica: *rolls eyes and scoffs* Fine. Review.

HAT: *rolls eyes* What is it with you people and not saying please?

Pacifica: Northwests don't say please.

HAT: Figures...


	16. Chapter 16

HAT: 5,844 words of pure story on this one chapter... read... just read.

(Edited)

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing aside from the plot and OCs.**

* * *

It was a nice dream. Pacifica can't remember what it was, but she knows that it was nice enough that she didn't want to leave it when it was rudely interrupted. She finds herself thrown over some Stan's shoulder- it's hard to tell when she can't see the back of their head- and she can't believe that even though it's Christmas break that she _still_ has to wake up early. There should be some law against waking students up before noon if there isn't an emergency.

"It's too early," Pacifica whines as she closes her eyes and goes limp on Stan's shoulder.

"It's never too early to get food."

Stanley. Of course Stanford wouldn't be up this early if he didn't have to take her to school or something of the like. Stanley was the half-earlybird. He woke up earlier than the rest of the family, but later than the rest of the population. Most Pines- and this also includes Pacifica- sleep until about noon at the earliest and four at the latest no matter how early they go to bed. Stanley was that rare Pines that woke up at ten at the earliest and noon at the latest.

"Did you wake up everyone else?" She demands while mentally creating a plan to escape and go back to bed if he hasn't.

"I had Stanley grab Mabel and had Dipper get into the car."

That wakes her up. "Where are we going? And why aren't you letting us change before we go somewhere?"

"We're going to the diner at... seven-"

"Why?! It's open _all day_ , I'm sure we can catch breakfast at three like everyone else," Pacifica insists.

"Because after that we're going boxing and it'll be Dipper and Mabel's first time," he informs. "All of your clothes are in a duffel bag in a car."

She processes this for a few minutes and then something takes her by surprise. "Wait... you got Uncle Stan up _before_ noon? And none of us have to go to school? How?"

"Let's just say, I have my ways," Stanley chuckles.

She's tossed into the back seat and then soon Mabel's tossed into the back seat half-asleep beside Dipper who _is_ asleep. Pacifica buckles both sleeping brunettes safely and glances towards the front to see a dark gray head of hair in the driver's seat, which assures her that she can get some more sleep until they get to the diner. After buckling herself she leans against the window and falls asleep.

...

"Hey, Pacifica, wake up."

At first said girl is confused, no one really calls her Pacifica anymore, it's always "Pep," but then she remembers being put in the car beside the twins so that they could go to the diner. She opens her eyes and finds that she's resting on someone's shoulders and when she looks she finds that it's Dipper.

"S-sorry," she stutters as she quickly sits up and tries to get her seatbelt off.

"'S'no problem," he assures with a light pink tint on his cheeks.

 _Oh, gosh, this isn't starting out well,_ Pacifica thinks as she closes the door behind her.

"Get cozy in the back seat?" Stanford asks with a small smirk.

"Shut up," she snaps and stuffs her hands in her pockets while picking up her pace.

 _Gosh, he's so annoying..._ For the longest she'd been trying to decide what exactly Stanford reminded her of. He certainly acts like an uncle, but there's something to it that especially irritates her in a way that none of her favorite uncles had ever done- but then again, in her family that's not exactly accurate on the normal family. It isn't until she sees him mess with his brother in a similar manner that she realizes that he's a lot like an older brother- much older brother, but a brother nonetheless (A/N: Or are all of my uncles just weird and act like that and no one else's?).

"Mabel, don't you _dare_ touch that!" Stanley orders.

"Awww!"

"I'll cut your hair if your try one more time," Stanford grunts as he watches the raccoon scurry closer to Mabel.

Mabel immediately catches up with the group and pouts. "But it was so cute!"

"And dirty, I can get you one that's nice later if you want," Pacifica mutters.

"Thanks," Mabel whispers.

They get into a booth and Pacifica ends up sitting against the wall with Mabel beside her and Dipper on the outside and the Stans across from them.

"It's so early, why couldn't we have come here in a few hours?" Dipper demands while resting his chin on the table.

Mabel glances around and then a lightbulb goes off over her head.

"They should really fix that," Stanford grumbles while looking at the light bulb.

"It's always been like that, I think they're as cheap as Grunkle Stan," Mabel replies. And then an internal lightbulb goes off and she smiles deviously toward her great uncle. "Wait a second... I know why we're here so early!"

"No you don't," Stanley quickly replies.

"Because Lazy Susan's not here!"

"Lazy Susan?" Stanford asks his brother with a raised eyebrow.

"Can I take your order?" The waitress asks.

"Yes," Stanley says quickly.

As soon as the waitress walks away Pacifica leans forward with her elbows on the table and chin resting on her interlocked fingers. "Do tell about why you're avoiding Lazy Susan, Papa Pines."

"Yes, 'Lee, I'm quite curious," Stanford pushes as he leans away and against his palm to get a better view of his brother's reddening face.

"Well- uh- I had a thing for her and I got her number..."

"Aaand? What, did you knock her up while drunk or something?" Stanford asks.

"Ew, please don't put those vile images in my head," Pacifica shudders.

"Please," the twins beside her insist.

Stanford rolls his eyes and then turns his gaze to his brother. "So? What happened?"

"Well, I got her number- like the player I am- and..."

"Aaaaand," Pacifica mutters, gesturing with her hand for him to go on.

"She had me talk to her _cats_ and she talked for _ever_ and then she wouldn't stop calling when I stopped answering. I had to change my number and everything to avoid her. That's why I haven't been in this diner in so long."

Stanford guffaws and ends up pounding the table with his fist until he manages to catch his breath. "Really, 'Ford? Even I knew she was gonna be a crazy cat lady thirty years ago."

"Shut up!" Stanley growls as he shoves his brother.

Pacifica smirks at this scene and finds herself content- even if she's uncomfortably shoved against the wall because she's trying not to make physical contact with the female next to her. That seems to be the most that she really ever feels: content. Happy moments are quickly sapped away and her sad moments last longer than she would want them to, but most of the time she finds herself content. She's just glad that content is something that she can still achieve.

"Hey, Pep, got a crush on Toby now?" Stanley jokes.

Pacifica finds that she's been staring at Toby and makes a disgusted face. "No. I was just thinking."

"Penny for your thoughts?" Mabel asks, holding out a penny.

The blond looks at the penny and then pushes it away. "No thank you."

"Dollar for your thoughts?" Dipper offers, leaning forward onto the table so that he can see past his twin.

"I don't see a dollar," Pacifica snaps and then crosses her arms and looks out the window.

Dipper scoffs and sits back. "Not much has changed, I see- ouch! What was that for?"

Stanford takes a sip of his water before answering. "Why do you think you would deserve it?"

 _Ha! At least he doesn't pull that stupid trick just on me_ , Pacifica thinks.

Their drinks are placed in front of them and Pacifica slowly drinks her chocolate milk and observes Stanley. The cheapskate must be planning something otherwise they wouldn't be having anything, but the complementary water and-

 _Do I smell bacon?_

"What're you up to, old man?" Dipper demands.

The fez wearing man glares at his nephew. "You're just like your father..."

The boy huffs and drinks his soda with a pout.

As soon as the food is placed in front of them Pacifica is amazed that they're having pancakes, hash browns, sausage, eggs, _and_ bacon- and the most shocking thing? It's not all on one place for them to share, they each have their own.

Pacifica is not the only one to look up at him in confusion because her two peers look up at their well-known cheapskate uncle with wary eyes. Quite frankly Pacifica is wondering whether or not they should take this man to a mental hospital to get his mind checked out because this is abnormal _beyond_ any paranormal activity that she's seen so far with living with the Pines- who seem to attract them like metal to a magnet or stingy people to money (aka Stanford).

"Do _you_ know what's going on, Great Uncle Ford?" Dipper asks.

Stanford shrugs. "Don't ask me, just eat before he changes his mind."

And they did just that. They eat quickly, stuffing their faces with as much manners as they can muster with an actual plate of food in front of them at the diner. Pacifica looks down at her empty plate and comes to the realization that her appetite has grown immensely during her stay with the Pines because she's tempted to grab whatever Dipper and Mabel don't finish. She can kind of understand that she needs more food because she's near constantly either running or boxing and food is the energy she needs.

"Want the rest?" Mabel asks, holding her plate out to Pacifica.

 _Was I really staring that obviously?_ Pacifica thinks with a ghost of a blush coming to her cheeks. "N-no, you're good."

"You sure? I'm pretty full."

"Um... sure, I guess," Pacifica replies as she takes the plate from the other female. That's gone within a minute. "Thanks, Mabel. And thanks Papa Stan."

"Don't mention it," he replies with something that's a mixture of a grumble and pride. "Alright, if everyone's done eating, we can go."

They get out of the booths and Pacifica walks normally while the two brunettes sluggishly move behind her.

She allows a small smile of amusement and says, "What's the matter? Stuff yourselves too much?"

Mabel playfully shoves her. "Shut up! Not everyone can put away like you." Pacifica gestures to both Stans. "Like I said, not _everyone._ "

The Pines family clambers into the car and buckles up. Stanley drives and Pacifica glances to her right to see the younger set of Pines Twins falling asleep on one another. She feels something in her chest, something that leaves her a little jealous. She has McGucket as a confident and the Stans, even Wendy and Soos, but none of them are her age and most of them are more uncle figures than anything while the other two are more like admirable older friends. She doesn't have any peers that she can consider her best friend. These two will have each other to lean on if they have no one else at school- and she has no doubt that they'll have friends in no time if they had lost their previous friends- she has no one there.

She shakes this off and focuses on the fact that the car has stopped.

"Let's go boxing!" Stanley cheers.

Pacifica smirks and gets out of the car- in her pajamas, but that's besides the point- and leans against the car.

"Bet I can get there before you can," Stanley says with a smirk as he tosses the duffel bag towards his twin.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Put your money where you mouth is! 'Ford, starts us off."

Stanford rolls his eyes. "On your mark... get set... go."

The two take off and stay side by side the entire time. It's only a few yards away from their starting position and the door so with Stanley's leg length he could take the lead. She touches the door a split second before he does and she whoops in victory while Stanley pants at the physical exertion and puts his hands on his hips.

"Okay, kid, you win."

"Why do we have to learn how to box?" Dipper asks.

"It relieves stress and help you learn a little self-defense," Stanley insists.

"Plus it can finally get you some exercise," Stanford grunts as he pushes his nephew with one finger and making him teeter.

"Hey!"

Pacifica grabs her clothes and gear and rushes into the changing room. Mabel walks in right when she starts putting on her gear.

"You really like boxing?" Mabel asks.

A shrug. "Eh, I more like getting out my anger this way."

"What do you have to be angry at?"

Pacifica grows quiet and glares at the ground, but what she sees isn't the floor, but- instead- her "parents," Dan, and all the students and teachers that treated her like dirt because of who she used to be and whose blood that she shares.

Silently she finishes putting on her gear and walks out without her cousin. She walks out and finds both Stans trying to get Dipper into a ring. With a roll of her eyes she figures that she could have a match with one of her peers that are hanging around.

"Hey, Pacifica."

Said girl turns around and sees Travis Woods standing there with a shy smile and hesitant hazel eyes. He's wearing basketball shorts and a muscle shirt and his black hair pushed back by his helmet and hands inside of gloves already.

"What do you want?" She asks a bit more sharply than she had intended.

He grimaces and lowers his eyes to his shoes. "I- uh- I wanted to say hi and..." He looks up at her with a sincerity in his eyes that leaves her taken aback. "I'm sorry about what happened to you... I mean- I know I didn't do it, but... I could've warned you about that guy or something and... I wish that I could've done something to help you."

She observes him for a few moments before frowning. "Why take so long to say anything? You've had months."

"I know," he sighs as he looks down at the ground. "I'm just not the bravest person in the world, okay? You're a strong person to be able to go through what you're going through and I- I admire you for that because you're braver than I could ever hope to be."

 _Me? Brave?_ "Really?"

"Well, yeah," he shrugs and gives a reluctant smile. "I- uh- I was wondering if you wanted to- um... hang out sometime? A-as friends- er- I mean, we're not friends yet- um-"

"Let's box," she interrupts, finding his stuttering to be slightly annoying, but his words to be tested.

"Huh?"

"If you mean what you say about wanting to become my friend, box with me- and no holding back," she says.

He shifts from foot to foot. "My dad told me not to hit a girl."

"This is boxing- and we're fighting fair. If you don't you won't ever get the chance to be my friend."

He glances towards the ring and then to her and then smiles confidently. "Okay... you're on."

She smiles and turns to find an open ring and slips into one. Travis follows her and gets into his corner across from hers. They walk forward and touch gloves before getting into a fighting stance with their fists up in front of them so that they won't get hurt in the face right off the bat.

"Pep's got in a fight with a boy," Stanford notes loudly towards his brother.

 _Oh, no, please don't draw attention_ , Pacifica thinks, but when the silent bell goes off she dodges a punch aimed for the left side of her head.

"Get him, Pep!" Stanley shouts.

Pacifica focuses on her opponent and makes a strong right hook onto his briefly exposed left side. He takes a step forward and she's left on the defense until he slows his movements down just the tiniest bit and she makes a few jabs at his head and torso before backing up on her toes and circling him again.

"You're really good," Pacifica compliments.

"I should be, I've been boxing for almost a year," he replies. "How about you?"

"Started a few weeks after I saw you in the Shack," she admits and then sees an opening on his face and hits his jaw with her left fist.

He turns back and gets her exposed left side and quickly getting her jaw once and twice. She gets backed into a corner and she's left hunched over and trying to defend herself, but he's relentless and every hit leaves her thinking that there is going to be a bruise. She takes a forceful step forward and hits his chest and then his cheek and left side rapidly in succession without any hesitation. He backs up to the middle of the ring and she tries to push him to the ropes, but he gives a good clip to her jaw that leaves her on the ground.

 _1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6..._

"C'mon, Pacifica," Travis says. "I know there's more fight left in you."

 _9..._

Pacifica pushes herself up and stumbles to the side a few steps before getting her balance again. Her sapphire eyes light with excitement and wonder. She's had some good times in her life, but nothing seems to get her so excited than a match with someone that she hasn't ever fought before. It was like some sort of inner warrior- or she'd even go as far as to call it a beat- were unlocked inside of her when she puts her dukes up one more time. And then she comes back with a fury, her punches a bit harder than they were before with more ferocity.

He backs up a few steps before trying to counter her hits with his own. She gets backed into a corner and he punches her hard enough that there are black spots dancing in her vision. She lands on her stomach and ends up blinking rapidly to try and get her vision back. She tries pushing herself back up, but she ends up stumbling back onto her rear end with her head swimming. Then suddenly there's something that is warm on her shoulder, but she can focus quite yet.

"...fica... Pacifica, are you alright?" She looks up at Travis who kneels in front of her panting with sweat trailing down his worried face. "Are you okay?"

She grins. "That was a great fight."

He chuckles breathlessly and sits back on his heels. "You're really something. Here, let me get you a water."

"I can get it," she says and stands up.

"That was good, Pep, but next time lower your chin," Stanley advises when she gets out of the ring. "And move around a bit more, don't want to get backed into a corner."

She nods and glances towards the ring where she last saw Dipper and finds him and Mabel getting instruction from Stanford. They're struggling, but already Pacifica can see that the feminine part of the duo has a bit more physical leverage compared to her brother.

Pacifica walks to the water cooler and Travis follows while taking off his gloves and he gets her a water despite her previous statement.

"Thanks," she murmurs and drinks the water greedily.

Travis bites his bottom lip and looks at her with his big hazel eyes with a slight hesitancy- back to being shy again. "So- um... are we friends now- er- almost friends or-"

She covers his mouth with her hand with a little annoyance. "You're not my friend... but you can be my acquaintance or something."

He nods and when she removes her hand from his face he gives a small smile. "I like that. I don't think we ever properly introduced ourselves." He wipes his sweaty hand on his shorts and then holds out his hand with a smile. "I'm Travis Woods. I just turned thirteen two months ago and I like boxing."

Pacifica smiles in amusement and wipes her own hand on her shorts and shakes his hand. "I'm Pacifica Pines. I'm twelve and I like running and boxing."

The boy makes a confused face. "Really? I thought-"

"Pacifica! Hit the showers and lets go!" Stanley calls.

"Be right there!" She turns to Travis and smiles apologetically. "I guess I'll see you later or something."

"Okay. Bye, Pacifica," he says.

"Bye," she replies and rushes to do as ordered by her guardian.

Soon she's clean and she puts on some jeans and a purple long sleeved shirt that she found in the bag for her- she figured the sweater was for Mabel- and throws on her jacket- after all, it _is_ winter. Once she's out of the locker room she rushes to the entrance and waits for Mabel and Dipper with the Stans. A few minutes later Mabel and Dipper come out in their respective clothes and the five get into the car and head back to the Shack.

"That was shorter than normal," Pacifica notes. "I thought we'd be there all day."

"Nah, we've got stuff to do back at the Shack," Stanley grunts.

Pacifica grows quiet and notices the twins to her right are too tired to take note of anything. They look ready to pass out at the drop of a hat. She rubs her sore jaw and figures that closing her eyes for a little while won't hurt so she leans against the door and closes her eyes.

Apparently naps are not sacred anymore because not long after this happens she ends up being shaken gently.

"Pep, wake up." Stanley because Stanford would've just dragged her out of the car and made her relearn how to use her legs after being so groggy. She peers at him through her bangs and then holds up her arms to silently ask for him to carry her. "C'mon, Pep, I'm gettin' old. I can't carry you forever."

"Please?" She asks, her body sore and her mind groggy.

He lets out a sigh as he unbuckles her and picks her up form under her armpits and puts her on his shoulders. She ends up leaning forward and resting her arms on his head and her own head on her arms while he keeps a firm grip on her ankles.

"Y'know, you'd better be lucky it's your birthday," he grumbles.

 _I forgot all about that. Guess I'm thirteen now,_ she thinks as she gives a small smile.

"Surprise!"

Immediately awake. Pacifica sits up on her guardian's shoulders and looks around at the decorations- balloons and streamers thrown everywhere, a banner that says "Happy Birthday Pep!" and under that is a table full of presents and food with a cake off to the side. Standing there- the cause of her brief panic- are McGucket, Wendy and Soos.

"Happy birthday, darlin'," McGucket says with a fond smile.

She smiles softly and feels tears well in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?" Wendy asks with worried green eyes.

"N-no, I love it," Pacifica assures, wiping one of the tears that escaped out of her the sliver hair in front of her. "It's just... I didn't really think that you'd all do this for me..."

"Why wouldn't we?" Stanley asks. "You're family that we... don't... hate."

One thing that both Stanley and Stanford had in common above all else is the fact that they don't show affection like most- in fact, they have more of an immature, big brother kind of way of showing their affection towards the people they have a remote care about and often disregard people that they don't have a care for.

"What're we waiting for?" Mabel asks with a broad grin. "Let's get this party started!"

Pacifica smiles a little. "Yeah, yeah, I guess."

She's set on the ground and the party begins. There's a water balloon fight- she had the great satisfaction of getting Stanford in the face _twice_ and catching Dipper off guard four times- and a llama shaped piñata that is filled with candy- surprisingly the good stuff. It's different than any other birthday she's ever had and she couldn't be happier. Her birthday parties usually consisted of being shown off to all the rich people and given lavished gifts that she'd end up discarding a few months (at most) later or reuse at future parties while she acts like she's God's gift to man and without her the world might as well just end right then and there. This time she gets to have _fun_ and not have to worry about her image- she was soaked to the bone with her hair thrown back in what would have caused her a panic attack just the beginning of the summer. All she has to do is have fun with the people that are her _family_ now.

And then came present time.

"This is frooom... Mabel," Stanford grunts and tosses the box towards his newest niece.

Pacifica catches it and glances towards Mabel. "I thought you had no idea it was my birthday?"

"I made this before I found out, I think Grunkle Stan had Wendy do wrap it up," Mabel replies.

"Oh, okay," she murmurs. "Thanks."

"You haven't even opened it, silly!"

Instead of continuing with that small conversation she opens the present and finds a sweater- no a crocheted blanket! She takes it out and sees that it is hot pink, purple, and light blue with her name spelled out on the bottom right hand corner. She crocheted once- her parents thought it was something that only old ladies should do- and knew that it was difficult for her to make. It's big enough to fit her bed to her surprise so she knows that this girl worked on it for _at least_ a month (A/N: Crocheting anything takes time, I know... I do it and so does my mom... blankets that big take _months_ to finish, especially if you have arthritis (my mom) or get distracted easily (me)).

"Thank you Mabel, you didn't have to," Pacifica chokes out, trying not to let any tears of gratefulness seep out.

"I wanted to. Now you can stay all warm and cozy!"

The brunette hugs the blond who stiffens, but gives a half hug back anyway.

"Here's a present from me, dude."

"Thanks, Soos," she says and opens the present with care, the wrapping paper was of her favorite anime _Naruto_ , and she was going to hang it up on her side of the attic. She swears, Soos is trying to shove his love of anime onto her because it's working way too well. First episode and she was hooked and now she's just beginning _Naruto Shippuden_. She opens it and finds a Kakashi plush doll. "Oh, my gosh! Soos, you're the best! How'd you know Kakashi was my favorite character?"

"It's Kakashi, dude, everyone loves Kakashi," Soos replies.

She gives him a fist bump of gratitude. "Thanks."

"No problem. Happy birthday."

"Yo, open this!" Wendy says, tossing a box. Pacifica reaches up and barely catches the present with her fingertips. She opens the small box and brings out another box- a jewelry box? "Open it."

The birthday girl opens the box and finds that it's a music box that plays a short, quiet lullaby that she can't help, but adore. "Thanks, Wendy, I love it!"

"You're welcome, birthday girl!"

Dipper walks forward and holds out a present hesitantly with what seems to the the start of a formation of a shy smile. "Um... here."

She opens the book and sees that it's her favorite book- and the book she got finished with months ago- _The Outsiders_. "Thanks, Dipper..."

"No problem," he replies awkwardly and backs away as his grunkles walk forward.

"We got ya something together," Stanley says excitedly and holds out a paper bag that contains her present.

"Hope you like it, Pep," Stanford says with a smirk.

She is dismayed to find pads inside of the bag and she glares at them while clamping the bag completely shut. "You two suck, you know that right?"

Stanley shrugs. "You _have_ been complaining about there not being enough of that in the house."

"That's not the point!" She declares with embarrassed blush on her face.

"Yeah, but that's just a gag gift!" Stanford reassures.

 _I should hope so, this is embarrassing_ , Pacifica thinks as she glares at her guardian and his brother.

"Your real gift is something you've gotta be real careful with and _can't_ play with," Stanley growls while narrowing his eyes at the girl.

That makes her a little giddy because she feels that she knows what it is. Stanford hands her a small hand-carved, wooden box that has "Pep" elegantly written on the top with a grunt. She opens it and finds a hot pink handled switchblade with a black blade with pink swirls decorating the sides of the blade. Needless to say she was speechless. Sure, she had the habit of playing with her other switchblade (which is in her room at the moment) by flicking it out and putting it back repeatedly, but this is too beautiful to ruin in such a way.

"This is beautiful! Thank you two," she says as she checks the spring and finds that it's easy enough to flick out, but won't flick out on accident by being in her pocket because it is so sensitive. "It's great."

McGucket walks forward with a smile and holds out a small box with a button on top. "Here's yer present, Pep. Hope ya like it."

With a press of a button it slowly expands and before her is a full piano. "Whoa! That's so cool!"

"I rememb'red ya like ta play the piana so I built a pocket sized one," he informs.

She grins. "Thanks McGucket."

She could tell that he knew that she meant more than just for the present. He also saved her the day she was disowned and provided for her and put her in the Pines' home where- and she won't admit this if ever asked by the Stans- she has people that she absolutely loves.

"Go on and play it and see if it works," he insists.

She blushes. "I-I dunno. I trust you got everything right- you're a genius."

McGucket chuckles. "Awright, sweetheart- I won't push ya."

"Well I am!" Stanley says. "Go on, Pep, give it a try."

"Okay, okay, _fine_ ," she replies, rolling her eyes in amusement.

The presses one key to find remind her muscles and mind which key will play which note. After that her fingers graze against the ivory keys while she thinks about what she wants to play. It could be anything from classical to the anything composed in the present. Then it hits her and she begins to play, her fingers almost clumsily going about the keys. She feels more out of practice than she's ever been- even the first time she played in the junkyard (but that was a simple song that her muscles remembered long ago)0 but as she keeps playing her fingers become more sure of their movements and the notes flow together less choppily and more with a smoothness that comes with her two years of practice. Soon comes the emotions that come with playing and her fingers hit the keys sharply and quickly when the emotion of anger comes and gently and longly when sadness comes while happiness comes with the sharp, short movements. It's a relief to let out any and all emotions that she has pent up inside of her because at the end of the song she feels nothing but pure relief.

"That was beautiful!' Mabel cheers.

Pacifica smiles. "Yeah, I had lessons when I was younger... um... McGucket, how do I put it back to pocket-sized?"

"There's a butt'n right there," he answers, pointing to one that is above the keys to the right.

She presses the button and it quickly folds into itself and becomes the small box that she saw to begin with.

Pacifica places it into her bucket and punches her first (technically second) guardian's arm with a grin and then gives him a quick half-hug. "Thanks, McGucket."

"D'aww, shucks, it was just usin' light metals an' gettin' the order of foldin' in the proper order just right ta make sure it won't be bulky an' awkw'rd an' the other c'mponent's had ta werk else it woul'n't open up right," he explains.

If she were honest she would tell him that she knew _nothing_ of mechanics other than the basic ones that he _let_ her do when building things of mass destruction or some other doohickies that could be useful in some way, but he put it in a simple way that allows her to understand what he was talking about- better than how he started out when she started asking how he did things since he would go into complicated explanations with words that meant nothing to her.

"Cool," she replies simply.

"Cake time!"

That was all that had to be said to get everyone's attention.

"Make a wish," Stanford says with a grin while adjusting the fez on his head.

 _I wish..._ She doesn't know what to wish for. She glances around her and finds that her company- even Dipper- is better than what she was surrounded with before and she's grateful. What more can she ask for? _I wish... I wish for peace in our lives._

And then she blows out the candles.

* * *

HAT: That was a long chapter... It was just so hard to find a spot to stop the chapter so it ended up this long and... yeah. Anyway, I decided to put Pacifica's birthday during December (Christmas Break) because... well, why not? Not a lot of things going on with Dipper and Pacifica's relationship, but they'll warm up to each other... eventually...

Soos: How long is this story going to be?

HAT: ... very... _at least_ twenty chapters... how many chapters do I already have?

Soos: Including this sixteen.

HAT: ... *brain breaks*

Soos: I can fix that! Um... review, everyone! *


	17. Chapter 17

HAT: It took a while, but I finally did it! Enjoy!

(Edited)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls or it's characters because if I did nyan cat would make one random appearance for no reason. I just own the plot and OCs.**

* * *

Third day of Christmas Break (not including Saturday an Sunday after the last day of school)- two days after her birthday- and Pacifica should have expected both that her black eye and other bruises would take some time to heal because they are _just_ starting to yellow and that the craziness of Gravity Falls wasn't tied to the warmer side of the spectrum of weather.

Pacifica wakes up because of noise coming from the kitchen- she fell asleep on the couch the previous night after a movie marathon- and so she assumes that it is Stanford making breakfast- despite his protests last night that they can make cereal.

"I thought you said you weren't making breakfast," Pacifica says as she enters the kitchen and freezes when she sees a gnome standing on the kitchen counter while trying to reach the cereal on top of the refrigerator. "Are you planning on kidnapping me again?"

"Shmebulock!" The gnome cries, shaking his head and putting his hands behind his back guiltily.

Pacifica sighs and grabs the step stool and grabs the cereal. "You could've just asked... why aren't you hibernating with the other gnomes?"

"Shmebulock," he replies.

"Right... that's all you can say... Mind if I call you Shmeb? Schmebulock's kinda long."

He shakes his head and gestures for her to do so. "Shmebulock."

She pours him a bel of dry cereal and places it on the table and pours herself a bowl of cereal and then pours milk in it. When she turns around with her bowl and spoon at hand she notices him eating like an animal and kicks the table and makes him cry out in alarm and grip the table's edge so he won't fall off.

"If you're not gonna eat with your hands, get off the table and eat on the floor." He whines and climbs down to the floor and she sighs and places the bowl on the floor and then proceeds to eat her own. After a few moments she asks, "So, I'm guessing Jeff's the one that made you kidnap me?"

"Shmebulock!" He exclaims with a nod and his mouth full.

It doesn't faze her, but she isn't a fan of people talking with their mouth full. "Oh, okay... want some more cereal?"

"Shmebulock!"

She gets them both a second bowl of cereal and the two of them eat in peaceful silence that is broken several minutes later when the rest of her family walks in. She ignores them for a moment before realizing that they aren't going to move until she addresses the fact that there is a gnome eating on the floor beside her.

"Hey guys," she says plainly.

"Um... why is there a gnome in the kitchen?" Dipper asks.

"Yeah, didn't they kidnap you like they did me?" Mabel asks.

"They did, but this one's nicer than the rest of them. Jeff's just a big mouthed bully," Pacifica informs while bending over and petting the gnome. "Isn't he, Shmeb?"

"You gave him a nickname?" Stanford asks before frowning. "Jr. or Sr.?"

"Jr.," Shmebulock replies.

"Why're you feeding him?" Stanley demands.

"He was gonna get some whether I did or not," she shrugs and then drinks the milk left in the bowl. "I think we should keep him."

The Stans share a look before turning back to her. "I dunno..."

"He is kinda adorable... y'know, when he's not trying to kill us with a bunch of other gnomes," Mabel admits.

Dipper makes a face. "Really? We're thinking about keeping a pet gnome?!"

"They're more animalistic than one would think," Stanley informs. "Better senses, a denser bone structure, things of that nature. Very loyal, too."

Stanley sighs. "If I let you keep the dumb gnome you kids've gotta take care of him! That means feeding him, taking him out for walks, and potty training him... Dipper you're in charge of that."

"Ugh! What?! Why me?"

"Because you're the only kid that can teach _him_ how to go to the bathroom properly," Stanley grunts.

 _I'm so glad I'm a girl,_ Pacifica thinks.

"He's different than Waddles so that means different rules so you don't get to cuddle with him at night, he sleeps in the living room," Stanford adds and then glances at Mabel in her over-sized shirt as if trying to find something else and then his eyes harden. "No more skirts or dresses or nightgowns unless you wear shorts underneath them."

"And you have to let me use him every now and then in the tours," Stanley adds and then looks down at the gnome while he finishes eating. "And if he wants to leave, you let him. Understand?"

"Yes, sirs!" Mabel shouts excitedly while Pacifica nods.

(A/N: It wasn't until I started thinking about it that I cam to the realization that there have to be major differences between gnome-pets and other pets, thus all the ground rules)

While Pacifica cleans her dishes and the gnomes' Mabel hugs him and tells him of all the makeovers that she plans on giving him and Pacifica can't help, but notice him pale at each word that she says. She leaves it alone, finding it to be too troublesome.

"Did we even ask him if he wanted to be a pet?" Dipper mentions.

 _Oh, yeah, we gotta be nice,_ Pacifica thinks and then turns to the gnome. "Shmeb."

He looks up at her. "Shmebulock?"

"Do you want to stay here or go back to the gnomes?" He seems to really think about this because he sends a fearful glance towards Mabel. He doesn't seem to be a fan of makeovers like Waddles so there is that to contemplate. "She doesn't give makeovers all the time."

"Shmebulock!" He nods.

"Sweet, looks like we've got a pet gnome!" Mabel cheers.

Pacifica smiles lightly at that. She's never had a regular pet before- sure there was the dog, but he was just for show- so this will be a new experience. And there's also Waddles- who the twins had taken with them back to Piedmont- that she's sure that she's also going to have to help take care of. She's fine with that, so long as she doesn't have to give either a bath- she should hope that Shmebulock knows how to clean himself.

"Papa Pines-"

"I told you to stop calling me that."

She blatantly ignores this statement and- instead- says, "Are we gonna box today?"

"No, you're free today."

A full day free to do absolutely nothing but sleep like she'd wanted to in the first place. "Okay."

With that she goes back up to the attic and curls up in her bed.

 _What is with this family and not letting me sleep?_ She thinks when she glances at the clock and finds that she's only slept two hours.

"Pacifica, we're going monster hunting, wanna come?" Mabel asks.

The blond sits up and glares at her new cousin. "Listen, Mabel, I study about monsters so that I can avoid them- I don't particularly want to go _looking_ for them- especially after my experiences with them."

Mabel pouts. "Okay. Have a nice nap."

"Happy monster hunting," Pacifica grunts back- _Damn you Stans!_ \- and then lies back down.

Apparently not even God wants her to sleep because after half an hour she wakes up for _no_ reason. She sighs and gives up on trying to sleep for an entire day and puts on a pair of gray sweatpants and a green thermal shirt. Might as well go for a run around the nearby woods for a little while. It'll wake her up and eventually cause for her to be exhausted when she gets to around bedtime.

She walks downstairs and looks around for signs of life, but other than Shmebulock and Waddles she can't find anyone there. She listens to the bathroom and hears nothing and then goes to her uncle's room and knocks on the door.

"Who is it?"

"The only niece you have that's blond!" She calls and then kicks the door. "You're _seriously_ back in there?!"

"I have to find out more about the _expers bestia_ ," he calls back.

"If we're gonna talk, could I _at least_ be in there so we can talk face to face?"

"Why do you want to talk face to face?"

 _Damn it!_ "Because it's awkward to talk through a door."

"And why would that be."

 _Thinkthinkthink!_ After a few moments she gets something that she prays will work. "Because society made it rude to not talk face to face when two people are in the same place with each other."

After a moment of silence he says, "Come in." She opens the door and finds him leaning back in his chair and looking at her with his usual blank expression, but she can see that his eyebrows are furrowed slightly in annoyance. "Alright, Pep, what is it?"

"What happened to being outside of this damned room and not killing yourself over research- eh?" The blond demands.

The gray haired man sighs, not bothering to hide his annoyance this time. "I ate breakfast- isn't that enough?"

"No, because then you're gonna skip lunch and dinner and breakfast tomorrow and then we'll have to start that shitty cycle all over again. I'm tired of doing that."

Obviously he doesn't care about her language- after all, he doesn't care about watching his language around her- or anyone for that matter.

"Then stop!" He shouts while raising his shoulders and hands slightly for emphasis. "It's the logical thing to do."

She pinches the bridge of her nose- much like Stanford would- and sighs. " _That's not how this works!_ That's now how _any_ of this works at all!"

He leans back in his seat. "Then explain... defend your case."

 _You mother-_ "You're my family now. I don't _want_ to see you _die_ because you can't take care of yourself."

"And why don't you think I can take care of myself."

"You don't shower, you don't eat, you don't drink, you just sit in here and do research all day long! We have to force you to eat anything and even then you only eat so much. We leave you food and you just leave it sitting there until the next day! Papa Stan spent thirty years of his life to get you back- are you _really_ going to just die because you're too busy to eat doing research on something that doesn't even matter anymore."

" _It does matter!_ "

"Why?"

"Because you got hurt because I didn't know anything about it!"

Pacifica stops for a moment to process this, but despite herself she still says, "What?"

His shoulders sag in defeat and he glowers at the floor. "If I'd known about his kind- about him- I would've been able to tell you the signs and you would've avoided him or been able to defend yourself against him and you wouldn't've gotten hurt."

She closes her eyes and breathes a sigh, _So that's what this is about._

She opens her- currently- azure eyes and looks at him. "Listen, Uncle Stan... it's not your fault. It probably would've happened whether you knew about him or not... you can't change the past," she says gently.

"But I can change the future... I can make sure it never happens again," he replies.

"You can't guarantee the future when you're doing stuff to make you die. It's not like I'm gonna run into him that often. It may be a small town, but we don't always see everyone all the time."

"I... suppose you're right," he replies slowly, almost as if it hurt to say it.

"183-23." Sad- or rather- _pathetic_ on her part, but she's still proud of every point she's ever gotten because- as it can be seen- she's lost a whole lot more than she's won. Instead of relishing in her victory- like she had the first time- she stuffs her hands in her pockets. "I'm gonna take a run around the Shack for a while."

"Be careful," he grumbles and then throws some black cloth at her. "Wear that, you could catch a cold."

She unravels it and finds it to be a worn black beanie. "Okay. See you at lunch or dinner."

He grunts and turns back to his research.

Pacifica takes this as a victory and puts the beanie on her head and then walks down the hall to leave the building and go for a run. After pulling on her boots- there wasn't any snow on the ground like there normally would be since- after a week- it melted into puddles, but it's just in case she runs into those puddles so her feet won't get soaked immediately- she opens the door and as soon as she walks from out of the threshold she runs into her _favorite_ brown-haired cousin, Dipper. Of. Course.

"Watch where you're going," Pacifica snaps out of habit- living with the Stans did _not_ help her with not being rude to people- especially that live in the house.

"I was, you didn't bother to look out the window," Dipper snaps before looking at her attire. "What're you gonna do?"

"Go for a run, if you _must_ know," she replies as she adjusts her beanie so that she's sure that it's secure before she begins stretching.

"Why?"

"Because unlike you I want to be able to outrun half the crap that goes on in this town," she replies a bit snarkier than she intended. "Where's your other half?"

"I doubt that you care."

Pacifica's eyes turn a shade darker. "Don't make assumptions."

"She's in the gift shop," he answers after a moment.

With a nod she starts down the stairs of the porch. "I don't know who died and made you so bitter, but this isn't the Dipper I remember from the party."

"You don't know anything about me!" He shouts with his fists clenched and anger in his coffee-colored eyes. "You probably never had any problems before you left that nice mansion."

She pauses and glares back at him with steel blue eyes. "You don't know me, either."

And with that she starts her jog. Now she wishes that Travis where there so she could use him as a punching bag- he made a nice one on her birthday even if he beat her. She settles for running until she forgets why she's irritated.

Eventually everything ebbs away into nothingness and she knows that this is the point when she should start heading back. She has no idea how much time has passed, but she could safely say that it's probable been half an hour. She goes back to the Shack and figures that she'll have a small snack to reward herself for exercising- whoever said that she _liked_ to do this? She had to give herself some incentive just like quite a few others.

Not even halfway through her apple and Pacifica's interrupted by a familiar sight- Mabel Pines.

"What is it?"

"Dipper's missing and I need you to help me find him!" Mabel whispers loudly.

And immediately her appetite was spoiled.

* * *

HAT: Welp... that happened.

Toby: Why aren't I in it?

HAT: You're in it... briefly... and now.

Toby: I demand to be recognized!

HAT: *gapes* What?

Toby: I won't say it if you don't write a story about me.

HAT: *facepalms* Toby, you forgot about the contract you signed.

Toby: Oh, darn it!

HAT: *sighs* I'll think about it... really... really hard to see if I could bring myself to make one about you.

Toby: Thank you! *turns to camera* Review, everyone!

HAT: Toby, you're so awkward.

Toby: *sulks* I know...

HAT: *sighs guiltily* Let's go get some ice cream.

Toby: With sprinkles?

HAT: *rolls eyes good-naturedly* With sprinkles.

Toby: YAY!


	18. Chapter 18

HAT: Let's see how this goes.

Edited

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing aside from the plot and OCs... Gravity Falls isn't mine. :(**

* * *

"What?! What do you mean missing? I thought you two hardly ever leave each other's side," Pacifica hisses back, now tossing her half finished apple to the pig who- of course- eats it.

"We're twins, not conjoined twins," Mabel deadpans- something new to Pacifica- and then shakes her head and takes on the worry she previously had. "I don't know what happened. One second I'm looking at a pretty butterfly and the next he's gone. I looked everywhere I could for him, but couldn't fine him."

 _Shit!_ "Okay... um- have you told the Stans or Wendy or Soos?"

"No, I came straight to you," she replies.

"Dummy," Pacifica hisses while hitting her cousin over the head. "At least Wendy and Soos can help us if you don't want to get in trouble with the Stans."

"Sorry," Mabel mumbles, rubbing the left side of her head.

The slightly older girl removes the beanie with one hand and rakes a hand through her blond locks. "Okay, so tracking could work. Looking for his footprints and stuff, but that doesn't always work... um... what do we have that has a good sense of-" She sees their newest pet nibbling on one of her shoes, but instead of getting angry she grins at her genius and pulls back on her borrowed beanie. "Shmebulock! Perfect!"

The gnome perks at hearing his name. "Shmebulock?"

"What can he do?"

"Gnomes have better senses than we go- they're more of a dog than they are human if they're left on their own," she relays from the information Stanley had her memorize. "We could have him take a whiff of Dipper's stuff and track him using Shmeb."

"That's a great idea!" Mabel praises.

Pacifica kneels in front of Shmebulock. "Shmeb, could you help us find Dipper?"

"Shmebulock," the gnome nods.

"Go get something that has his scent," Pacifica orders while grabbing a scarf to help keep the small gnome warm. "And do you have any gnome-sized gloves?"

"Made them this morning, they're on my bed."

Pacifica runs upstairs and grabs the small gloves and jacket before running back downstairs. She sorely hopes that neither Stan could hear her stomping up and down the stairs, but she has not time for that. It's winter in Oregon and Dipper- despite how she doesn't like him at the moment- is lost out there and most likely unable to find his way back even if he's explored the nearby woods.

 _It's be easier to track him if there were even a little snow,_ Pacifica thinks irritably while dressing the tracking gnome and grabbing her own pair of black gloves and pulling them on- on the thin sidenand flexible like she likes it- while glancing down the hall to see if anyone is walking down that she'll have to come up with an excuse for in order for her and Mabel to go out with Shmebulock. _Leash! We don't have one! Oh, well._

She ties her scarf around the gnome and glances up when she sees Mabel walking forward with her brother's shirt in her hands. "I found this in the dirty clothes."

"Ew." Despite this she grabs the shirt and kneels in front of the gnome and holds the shirt out, but not stuffing it in his face- she learned the hard way with the dog not to stuff something smelly in the nose of something with a strong sense of smell. "Do you think you can find him?"

Shmebulock smells the shirt tentatively and then nods. "Shmebulock."

"Alright, let's go," both girls say and walk out of the door immediately.

Pacifica picks up the gnome and runs with him to the last place Mabel saw him before setting him down and letting him use his nose to find the missing Pines. Pacifica- the entire time- was cursing out her peer with every curse word in her arsenal- which had greatly increased after meeting Stanley- while they trudge through the cold, damp forest.

Shmebulock sniffs the air and walks as fast as he can on his little legs and eventually ends up on all fours to go faster when he feels the urgency to find the boy from the two girls. Pacifica knows that those gloves will be soaked by the end of this, but right now the main priority was Dipper- who could be soaked to the bone and dying somewhere for all they know.

"Should we get him off the ground before he gets frostbite on his hands?" Pacifica asks.

Mabel glances at her before looking down at the small bearded creature. "He'll be fine, his gloves are waterproof."

"That's useful," Pacifica mutters and adjusts her gloves, moving the scarf from one hand to the other. "Your idiot brother better not've gotten hurt."

"He's not an idiot!" Mabel screeches.

Pacifica covers the girl's mouth and glares. "Gnomes have sensitive ears and so do a lot of other _dangerous_ things in this forest- supernatural or not. Besides, he's acting like one. Who roams off by themselves in the middle of the forest?"

"Well..."

"That's right... let's hurry up and find him before he gets eaten by anything or something," Pacifica half-grunts.

Instead of thinking about how irritated she is at herself for slowly turning into her guardians, she thinks about Dipper- the _idiot_. So smart when it comes to book stuff, but when it comes to common sense he had a fifty-fifty chance of seeming like a genius. Like never leave your buddy in the forest alone by roaming off or being packed for survival every time you go out. Pacifica has her switchblades- one in each pocket- and she's prepared to fight if she has to no matter what the monster or animal or even person. It's taking everything in her not to flick her old blade and put it back nervously at the thought that it _is_ possible that they could find him _dead_ and she's not sure what'd she do with the hysterical Mabel when she might be in shock herself. She doesn't particularly _like_ Dipper, but she certainly doesn't want him _dead_ , that's for sure.

"Shmebulock!" The gnome shouts, pointing straight ahead and breaking into a run.

Pacifica jogs to keep some of the slack on the makeshift leash- she makes a mental note to get a real one at the store for him. Mabel jogs beside her and they jog for about five minutes before- and this sent her heart plummeting off a cliff so she could only imagine what Mabel is feeling- he stops in the middle of a clearing and starts digging at the earth under their feet. Usually that means burial which usually means that they've been killed and hidden away.

"Start digging," Pacifica orders, kneeling onto the cold, damp earth and stuffing her gloves into her pockets before she starts digging at the earth.

Mabel follows her lead and begins to dig beside the gnome and her cousin with tears in her eyes.

Pacifica ignores those tears and concentrates on digging, trying to find pale skin with each swipe of the dirt. She hasn't been this scared to find what she's looking for since she had to find McGucket's raccoon wife on bath day, but that was nothing in comparison to what she's feeling now. _Please, please tell me this is some sort of nightmare..._

* * *

HAT: Is he alive? Is he dead? You don't know, but I do.

Dipper: I swear, if you kill me-

HAT: *raises eyebrows* 12 year old boy with no muscles against a nearly 18 year old who deals with a lot of children and picks them up and throws them on a couch all the time... who'd win?

Dipper: ... you would.

HAT: *nods* That's right. *picks up Dipper bridal style* And one of them happens to be a twelve year old who weighs more than you.

Dipper: *blushes* Put me down.

HAT: *sets him on his feet* Only because you're adorable. *ruffles his hair*

Dipper: I'm not adorable, I'm manly!

HAT: You'll grow into it eventually. Will you say it for me, please?

Dipper: Please review!


	19. Chapter 19

HAT: Wow... 54 reviews, 47 favorites, and 70 followers? I never thought it'd get this big this fast- it's only been about a month! You people can actually deal with me? Or is it my story that keeps you here? Most likely the story. Anyway, I hope that all of you enjoy!

(Edited)

 **Disclaimer: Despite the odd one or two wishes, I don't own Gravity Falls- however! I do own the OCs and the plot.**

* * *

The ground rumbles underneath them and Pacifica stops her digging and then grabs the gnome and pushes Mabel to standing position. "Climb!"

Mabel's face contorts into one of confusion. "What?"

"If there's a landslide, we're at the bottom- climb!" Pacifica quickly says, shoving the girl towards the nearest tree while tying the gnome to the girl's back.

Mabel climbs up the tree and Pacifica starts to follow when it all stops and everything goes quiet. After a few moments the regular sounds of the forest come back and this causes her to relax only minutely.

"What're you two doing?"

"Dipper!" Mabel cries, jumping down from her place on the tree- Pacifica barely got out of the way- and nearly tackles her brother.

Pacifica notes the secret passage as it lowers back to the ground- right where they were starting to dig. And then the same anger that she felt towards her uncle was immediately turned to the _idiot_ standing in front of her, being squeezed by her sister- who still had Shmebulock on her back. He was perfectly fine and caused so much worry because he wanted to fine some secret passage he probably read about in Stanley's journals.

"What... the _hell_ is _wrong with you?!_ " Pacifica demands.

The twins frown in confusion. "What?"

Pacifica stomps forward while pointing at the source of her anger. "You're so fucking _selfish!_ "

Dipper makes a face of disbelief. " _I'm_ selfish?! How could you say that after all the crap that you've done?!"

" _Yes,_ I've done a lot of _horrible_ things in the past- _no one lets me forget that_ \- but this has to be the _dumbest_ thing I've _ever_ seen you do!" Pacifica shouts while still walking forward and none too gently pokes him in the chest with nearly every word of the last part of the sentence. "Who goes around the forest looking for something without _telling anyone?!_ Mabel was going insane by the time she got me to help her find you and I was actually starting to _worry_ that you had _died_ and that we'd have to bring your body back home!"

"Why do you care what happens to me anyway? You don't even like me!"

"Just because I don't like you doesn't mean I want to see you dead. How would we explain what happened to you?"

"Oh, sure, you just want to make sure that _you_ don't wan to get in trouble," Dipper snaps. "All you care about is yourself. You just want to do anything to make yourself seem perfect and try and ignore all the things that make it seem like you aren't- just like when you found out your family hadn't founded Gravity Falls."

"You know what... forget it. I'm done."

"Good to hear."

Before she could even make the move to leave the twins and go back home the earth crumbles underneath Dipper's feet and Pacifica glances at where they're at and internally curses that they're at the edge of a cliff while she quickly grabs the boy's hand just as the last bit of earth gives from under his feet and she ends up- unwillingly- on her stomach holding Dipper's sweaty hand with her own moist hand- not good when trying to keep him form falling since that lessens the friction.

"I-I'm slipping!"

The blond scoots closer to the edge and grabs the sleeve of his jacket. "Use your other hand and grab onto mine." Dipper grabs her sleeve and Pacifica lets go of his sleeve and holds her hand back. "Mabel, put my glove on his hand!"

Mabel digs into Pacifica's pockets and grabs the gloves and then puts one on. "There."

Pacifica quickly holds out her left hand- not her dominant hand. "Alright, not grab this hand."

"What?"

"Do it! I can get a better hold on you this way."

Dipper groans. "Alright."

Once his left hand is locked with her left she slips her right hand from his and holds her hand back. "Put the other glove on."

"O-okay," Mabel stutters and does as told. When Pacifica grabs Dipper's other hand with her own the inevitably question comes up. "Now what?"

"I'm thinking," Pacifica hisses, trying to think of any solution that wouldn't involve one or both or all three falling to their deaths.

"Mabel! Your scarf!" Dipper says excitedly. "You can tie it around Pacifica and pull her up while she pulls me up."

"Shmeb! Untie yourself!" Mabel orders.

"Shmebulock!"

After a few more seconds than anyone wanted Pacifica feels Mabel's hand pushing the scarf under her armpits. Her arms are beginning to get tired her her fingers are growing a bit numb, but she refuses to let go despite this.

"You're gonna be okay, we're gonna get you outta here," Pacifica assures, cerulean eyes full of fear that this might be a lie.

Dipper seems to sense this because his chocolate eyes soften to an almost amber color. "We're all gonna be okay. We've gotten out of tougher stuff than this."

She doesn't know if that's exactly reassuring since there have been people that have jumped out of planes and turned out just fine, but rolled out bed and broke their neck. People have died of simpler things and this more often than they've died of more complicated things.

 _Calm down, focus on your hands. Don't let go_ , Pacifica thinks.

"Got it!" Mabel cries after finishing her knot. "I'll pull on three. Ready?"

"Ready," Pacifica replies as she braces her elbows on the earth beneath her.

"One... two... _Three!_ "

Pacifica takes a breath in through her mouth and holds her breath so that her core will tighten and she can bring her knees forward to get into a better position to pull Dipper upward while Mabel pulls her upper body up- and Pacifica was trying to lighten the load for Mabel by forcing her back to straighten while bringing Dipper up from midair. The weight lessens on Pacifica's arms and she knows that Dipper's managed to get a foothold, but what she doesn't expect is for him to push himself up and use all the forces being used to bring him up to propel himself toward the girls and have them tumble into a haphazard pile of people- and somehow Shmebulock ended up on Dipper's back.

They separate from each other and sit in front of each other, staring at one another. They all could have _died_ and no one would've found their bodies for days- unless Shmebulock showed them. Dipper is the first to let out a hysterical giggle and then Mabel and then Pacifica before they all burst in to hysterical laughter.

"Th-thank God we're not dead!" Dipper manages between breathless laughter.

"I thought we were totally gonna die," Pacifica adds.

After taking what must've been at least ten minutes to collect themselves they grow silent and look at each other in a new light. There's something about life-death situations that leave hearts open and show something about each person that the others never knew about. It brings everything into perspective and it is also a great way to see who is truly on your side or not. Pacifica realizes that these two mud coated individuals are on her side just like- and she hadn't known this in Dipper's case until Mabel told her that he was missing- she's on theirs.

"Thanks for saving my life, guys," Dipper says humbly.

"Just don't do that again, bro-bro," Mabel says, punching her brother's arm. "You really scared me."

Pacifica gets up and doesn't bother trying to brush off the mud off of herself or out of her hair. "Let's go home. It's been a _long_ day."

They let Shmebulock lead the way back to the Shack since they are hopelessly lost. The sun was low on the horizon which as more than enough incentive to hurry before the temperature drops anymore. It was just their luck that it began to snow.

"Is it snowing?" Mabel asks, being the first to notice.

Pacifica looks around and sees the beginnings of what could be a snow storm. "Great," she huffs with heavy sarcasm. "We need to hurry up. Shmeb, could you go faster?"

Shebulock nods and starts running on all fours and the three start to jog after the gnome. By the time they get to familiar woods the sun has gone down and there is a thin layer of snow covering the ground. Dipper slows to a stop and breathes heavily which was a good indication for a break. Pacifica finds a fallen log and brushes the snow off and sits down.

 _I didn't realize we went that far out into the woods,_ Pacifica thinks as they take a breather and Shmebulock clambers up to her lap to get some warmth.

"I say we're about fifteen minutes from the Shack," Dipper pants as he looks around at their surroundings.

"Then we can get some hot cocoa and cuddle in blankets," Mabel says enthusiastically as she shivers next to Pacifica.

"And have a nice hot shower," Pacifica adds, finding nothing more appealing than that thought.

The three of them are covered in dried mud, sweat, and grime and their clothes hadn't completely dried off, but they were could move all their limbs and fingers and toes, which was a good thing. And what Pacifica wouldn't give for a nice, clean glass of water.

Mabel scoops up some snow and starts to bring it to her lips, but Pacifica catches her wrist. "What? I'm just gonna eat some snow- I'm thirsty."

"It hasn't snowed in a while so this has all the toxins and stuff and it'll make you cold. It'd be better to wait until we get back to the Shack."

Dipper nods his agreement. "Let's hurry up. If we run I think we can get there in less than fifteen minutes."

Pacifica ties Shmebulock to her back and then they all start the jog/run back to the Shack. It takes ten minutes- lucky for them- and Pacifica can honestly say she's _never_ been so happy to see that building in her life. Pacifica's the first to enter the Shack- being the fastest- and she takes Shmebulock off of her back and gently puts him on the floor and she goes to the first person she sees for warmth- Wendy. Dipper and Mabel jump Soos for warmth and try their best to steal all of it.

"Whoa, Pep, what happened to you guys? Mr. Pines 1 _and_ 2've been looking for you three for an hour," the redhead says (A/N: Mr. Pines 1= Stanley, Mr. Pines 2= Stanford).

"L-l-loooong story," Pacifca stutters.

"You need to get outta those wet clothes," Wendy says, grabbing Pacifica's hand and Mabel's and dragging them up to the attic while Soos takes Dipper to his room.

Wendy helps Mabel out of her clothes because Pacifica stubbornly insists that she can do it on her own. Once she's free from the wet winter wear she pulls out her pink sweat pants and dark gray long sleeved shirt and then her fuzziest socks and then trudges downstairs with her hands stuffed into her pocket and her mind set on hot chocolate and a nice, crackling fire. Dipper was already sitting in front of the fire with a cup of hot chocolate in his hands and a blanket thrown over his shoulders and Pacifica was determined to follow his lead.

"Pacifica Elise Pines!" Two voices shout in anger.

 _Oh, crap_. She slowly turns and finds two fuming Stans standing there with similar frowns on their faces.

"What do you think you three were doing?" Stanley demands. "We looked _everywhere_ for you for _an hour!_ "

She was the oldest- by about five months _at least_ \- so she had to be the one to take responsibility. "I'm sorry, Papa Stan. Mabel and Dipper went monster hunting- Mabel asked if I wanted to go earlier, but I didn't and went back to sleep. I guess half an hour later I got into it with Dipper and went on a run- I guess he was angry, which was why he wandered off- and then Mabel came and got me and we took Shmeb out to track him," she explains, knowing that the way that she's telling the story puts all the blame on herself. "We found him and we argued and I accidentally pushed him to the edge of a cliff and then the ground fell and we had to bring him back up. I'm sorry that I let all of this happen and that I didn't tell you or anyone what was happening or that we were leaving."

She stands there with her hands behind her back and head lowered in shame while her body trembles from the cold. She's still not as warm as she'd like be and she just wants to warm up a little and then go take a nice, long, hot shower, but that doesn't mean that she won't get punished first. It could be anything from disciplinary spanking- that happened once (with a belt)- to being grounded for who knows how long.

What happens next surprises her: Stanley hugs her.

"So long as you guys are safe," he says and then touches her cheeks with the tips of his fingers while brushing some hair out of her face- it feels like bliss to her because they're warm against her cold cheeks. "You're freezing! C'mere, we're gonna get you warmed up."

He takes off his jacket and throws it over the girl's shoulders- another thing that feels like pure bliss to her cold skin- and guides her into the kitchen. Mabel and Wendy soon come back down and the shivering girl settles next to her brother and cuddles with him under his blanket. Pacifica is a stubborn girl and doesn't want to show weakness in any aspect- even if she's feeling cold. Sadly her guardians have learned this about her and they can see through her a good portion of the time.

"H-hey! Keep her fingers off of me!" Stanford stutters form having his cold niece and nephew cuddled up on either side of him.

Stanley places a cup of hot chocolate in front of her and then gives Mabel her own and takes Dipper's empty cup and makes another glass.

"Dude, you're awesome," Wendy compliments as she sits next to Pacifica.

"Waddoyamean?"

The redhead punches the girl's arm. "Saving Dipper, taking the blame- you're really growing into a cool teen."

Pacifica can't help the pride that builds in her chest. "Well, of course I'm a cool teenager- who would expect any less of me?"

Wendy laughs and punches her shoulder. "Shuddup!"

The blond takes another sip of her hot chocolate and she's disappointed to find that it's the last one. She goes to the sink and puts water in the cup and sets it in the sink. With her insides thoroughly warmed all she wants to do is curl up in something warm and go to sleep.

"C'mere, Pep," Stanley grunts from his recliner.

"What?" She asks as she walks forward and shouts in surprise when he picks her up from under her armpits. "Hey! What're you doing?"

He sets her in his lap and puts his inside of his wrist on her forehead. "Checking your temperature... still too cold to tell." With a yawn Pacifica follows her cousins' example and curls up into her guardian and rests her head on his chest. To her surprise he doesn't complain about her muddy hair getting his nice, _white_ shirt dirty and instead leans back in the recliner and adjusts her so that her foot elbow isn't digging into his ribs. "G'night, kids."

"G'night, Papa/Grunkle Stan," Pacifica, Dipper, and Mabel reply as they drift off.

* * *

HAT: I'm so grateful that- at least- 70 of you can put up with my _crap!_ I mean- really- how? Also- question- how many of you actually read the thing before and after the story? How many of you are actually reading this? How many of you enjoyed? How many disliked? How many wants me to stop asking question? Anyway I brought- Testosteraur? Where'd... I guess I don't have anyone today... um... review, please!


	20. Chapter 20

HAT: Over 40,000 words of pure story... I'm still not close to done... *hangs head* Darn it... These chapters just keep getting longer and longer... Well, enjoy anyway!

(Edited)

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls Grunkle Stan would take his fez off more often... no real reason- just because. The only thing I own is the plot and OCs.**

* * *

"Pacifica, wake up."

"Nooo..."

" _Pacifica_ ," the stern voice repeats.

"Whaaat?"

"We gotta check your temperature to see if you're sick... c'mon, siddup." Pacifica does as told and suddenly there's a thermometer under her tongue. After a minute it is taken from her mouth and she lies back down on the recliner. "101.3... looks like you three are staying in."

The blond browns at a churning of her stomach and rolls over to bury her head in the cushion. Five days- this time including the two days after the last day of school. Five days into Christmas break and she's _sick_. Just her luck.

"Do you feel like you're gonna throw up?"

At first she shakes her head, but then nods it when she feels bile rise in her throat. Immediately there's an empty trashcan with a plastic bag inside placed in front of her and a hand on her back to help guide her body to sit up. She throws up the contents in her stomach and even when there's nothing to throw up she dry heaves for a few moments.

Her mouth is wiped and she's guided back so that her head is resting on the too warm pillow. She feels hot and cold all at the same time, her throat burns, her head is pounding, her mouth is dry, and her stomach is churning similarly to the ocean during a tsunami. Her emotions aren't helping her state either. She's frustrated and doesn't want to be sick anymore and she doesn't know what to do with herself.

"Papa," she groans, unable to say anymore in her miserable state, hot tears of frustration building in her eyes.

The way she says it would be enough to tug at anyone's heart strings- much like Mabel and Dipper were doing to Stanford currently. It was filled with pure misery and a longing for the person called on to make everything better again. There's something about being sick that brings out the child in everyone- as could be seen when Pacifica calls out to her guardian for help when she doesn't usually want help from anyone.

Unfortunately neither Stan could resist the call from either girl. Even Stanford seemed ready to do anything to take away their pain and sickness.

"Oh, kids, I wish I had the cure for the common cold, but that won't be read for another six months at least," Stanford murmurs while moving the hair out of his nephew's face.

The children are too sick to comprehend that and question his progress with the cure of the common cold. If they were even the tiniest bit better than they are now then they would tell him to hurry up, but since they weren't they just groan.

"Hey, Mr. Pines, are we opening shop?" Soos asks as he walks into the living room.

Stanley sighs. "No, Soos. We're just gonna take care of these three."

"Aw, poor dudes. Is there anything I can do?"

"Water," the sick children groan in unison.

"Three glasses of water, comin' right up," the handyman says and goes into the kitchen.

Pacifica feels a hot hand brush her bangs out of her face. "I'm sorry, Pep... I'll get you some medicine and it'll help make you all better."

As soon as Stanley walks out Wendy walks in.

"Hey, are we- oh," she stops and then walks over to Pacifica who was left alone. "Guess yesterday got you sick- huh? How ya feeling?"

"Uuuuugh," the blond groans, turning so that she can cuddle into the redhead.

Sickness makes people vulnerable and the three of them are _vulnerable_.

"Here ya go, dudes," Soos says, handing a glass to Stanford and Wendy and then helping Dipper drink his water.

"C'mon, Pep, sit up," Wendy murmurs, helping the thirteen year old to sit up. "There ya go. Now drink up."

Water was pure relief, but after several seconds she can't drink anymore because breathing through half her nose isn't working for her. She ends up coughing and having her back rubbed until the coughing subsides and even after she's done her breath is raggedy and the inside of her chest feels scratchy.

"Grunkle 'Ford," Mabel groans and buries her face in his chest.

He awkwardly rubs her back. "It's okay, sweetie."

"Oh, poor babies," Wendy murmurs.

"I got the medicine," Stanley announces while walking into the living room only to receive three groans. "C'mon, you guys wan a get better don't you?"

The only thing that can piece through the haze of their minds is the bitter taste of medicine sliding down their throats. Each person holding a child is given a small cup with medicine and Dipper and Mabel- though they fight- end up with the foul cherry colored liquid being forced down their throats by the hands of Soos and Stanford, but Pacifica manages to knock it out of Wendy's hand and get out of her grasp so that she won't have to drink it. Needless to say she hates the taste of liquid medicine

"Mr. Pines, I don't think this is working."

"Noooo," Pacifica groans.

"C'mon, Pep, you gotta take the medicine or you won't get better," Wendy tries to reason.

"Give'er'ere," Stanley grunts. "I'll hold 'er and you make her take the medicine."

"Kay."

Stanley sits in his recliner and holds Pacifica securely despite her weak struggles. Wendy then pinches her nose shut with an apology so that Pacifica has no choice but to open her mouth. After her first breath is fully taken in and she exhales the medicine is forced into her mouth and her nose is released while her mouth is covered with a hand the size of her face so she has no choice, but to swallow the bitter medicine. She's given water to wash out the taste left in her mouth and then she cuddles into her guardian's warmth.

"Being sick sucks," Mabel manages and gets a humorless chuckle out of her brother.

"Got that right."

"Oh, gosh, you stink," Stanford grunts.

They hadn't taken a shower after their adventure the previous day and they weren't up to it now.

"Let them rest for today and then we'll have then wash up tomorrow," Stanley says while beginning to rock in his chair. "Soos, Wendy could you two..."

But Pacifica's already drifted off...

...

"Sit up, I gotta take your temperature," Soos insists.

Pacifica cuddles back into the recliner after her temperature is taken and vaguely hears him murmur "99.4" before he has her sit up and drink water.

"She's doing better than these two," Wendy says. "They're 100.984 and 100.894."

"What type of thermometer do you have?" Soos demands with a confused look to his face.

"A very accurate one- Mr. Pines 2 made it since they've been sick," she replies.

"Where's Stan?" Pacifica asks.

"Which one?" Soos asks.

"Both."

"Mr. Pines 1's at the store and Mr. Pines 2's making some food for you guys," Wendy answers. "I think he's making dinner for the rest of us, too."

If the sick children weren't awake they were now because all three sit up with wide eyes and staring directly at the redhead in disbelief. "He's doing _what?!_ "

Now if there was anything that these three knew about their relative Stanford Pines is that he can only make the basics about making food in the kitchen- the rest is food made over an open fire and that food is caught by himself- but an entire dinner or anything outside of that and the house is good as burned down. That's why Stanley is the _only_ one out of the Stan twins to be in the kitchen. Even Fiddleford Hadron _McGucket_ is allowed in the kitchen before before Stanford.

Despite feeling like crap Pacifica throws her legs over the edge of the recliner and puts her arms through the arms of the jacket of her guardian and half runs, half stumbles to the kitchen entrance and she leans heavily against the doorway.

"S-stop! D-on't burn... the house down," she begs while feeling her knees wobble and her stomach churn more than before.

"Pep! Go lay back down," Stanford scolds.

"Then step away from the stove," she orders, eyeing him warily.

"It's just soup, I can handle that," Stanford assures, blush dusting his cheeks at the insinuation.

After taking a moment to make sure she can't see any smoke- because her nose was useless at this point- she nods and stumbles back to the recliner and then curls back onto the furniture with Stanley's coat wrapped around her tightly to keep the cold away from her.

The door opens and closes. "Alright, wake the kids up."

"They're awake- they found out Mr. Pines 2 was making food," Soos explains.

"Oh, yeah... Well, it's either he makes food or takes care of you guys, which one do you three want?" Stanley asks.

Hesitation reveals a lot about what people think of others. Now Stanford is a fantastic person to help with homework and taking people places, but he was more statistics than feelings and that left for some awkward moments and doing things by the book- but then again he's been out of the dimension for thirty years so he hasn't honed all of these skills in a while so Stanley's the better cook and overall better caretaker.

"Soos and Wendy?" Mabel suggests.

"They've gotta go home soon," Stanley answers and then takes out the medicine. "And I don't think Wendy's quite able to make you take your medicine."

Pacifica groans and rolls over to hide her face. "I don' wanna..."

"Wendy, hold this."

"Sure."

Suddenly she's picked up and she knows that the medicine is coming. "No!"

"C'mon, kid, you're almost better. A few more days and you won't have to take this anymore," Stanley tries to reassure.

Not reassuring.

Pacifica tries her best to squirm out of his grip and manages to free an arm and nearly succeeds in elbowing him in the face, but he grabbed her arm and pinned it to her side. He holds her tightly with one arm and uses his free hand to pinch the sides of her face specifically near the back of the jaw to force her to open her mouth. Before she knows it she's hearing Wendy apologize and forcing her to drink the medicine unwillingly.

"You've done this before," Stanford notes as he leans against the doorway.

" _Why aren't you watching the food, poindexter?!_ " Stanley demands as he hands his adoptive daughter a glass of water.

"Oh, yeah!" And then Stanfor runs back into the kitchen.

 _So bitter_ , Pacifica thinks as she gulps down the water.

"P'cifica, yer gonna get sick if ya keep drinkin' like that," a new voice says when she's drunk half the glass.

"McGucket!" Pacifica calls happily, squirming in her adoptive father's grip. "Lemme go."

"You've got one more to take," Stanley informs.

She pales. "I thought I was done!"

"You're thirteen, you've gotta take a bigger dose than Dipper and Mabel."

"I just turned thirteen! Don't make me drink it," Pacifica whines.

"So _now_ you wanna be talkative?" Stanford asks.

McGucket chuckles and ruffles the blond's bangs. "Yer actin' a bit bratty, P'cifica. Take the med'cine fer me? It'll put mah mind at ease."

She grimaces. "But McGuckeeet-"

"Pep, don' ya wanna come down ta tha 'yard? Ya gotta get better b'fore ya do that which means ya gotta drink yer med'cine."

Her nose wrinkles and she snatches the small cup of medicine from Stanley. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Thank ya much, darlin', i's much 'preciated."

Reluctantly she puts the cup's rim to her lips and then tosses her head back in hopes of it missing her tongue completely and going straight down her esophagus, but it hits the back of her tongue and it manages to make her gag after she's finished it. She drinks the water and vaguely hears her guardian's grumbling about how she listens to McGucket more than him. She could argue that McGucket's special to her and that he's the first true father figure that she's ever had in her life that _stayed_ , but that would be opening a bag that she vowed to never open again.

"What brings you here?" Pacifica asks after she gets the "cherry" flavor out of her mouth (cherry her ass; no cherry tastes that foul).

"I heard you were sick so ah came down here ta see fer mahself and and maybe help ya out... wait... who's in the kitchen if yer here, 'Lee?"

"StanFord," Pacifica and Stanford deadpan simultaneously.

"Sweet molasses! Why didn't ya tell me you were shorthanded? Ah'd've scrabdoodled down here faster than you could say gobblewonker!"

"We're just shorthanded at night, during the day, we're fine," Stanley assures.

"An' how much money aren't you makin'?"

Stanley bites his bottom lip. "I guess you can stay and help take care of the kids..." He pauses and sniffs the air. "Is something burning?"

Stanford pokes his head out of the kitchen where a light amount of smoke comes out. "Um, 'Lee? Where's the fire extinguisher?"

"Ah, hell, 'Ford! It was just some soup!" Stanley yells, setting Pacifica back down at the recliner and grabbing the necessary item before running into the kitchen.

McGucket grimaces. "Ah'll make ya some possum stew, caught a few on the way here."

Pacifica grins. "Thanks, McGucket."

"What've they bin feedin' ya?"

"Crackers."

He grimaces. "Ah'll have yer dinner ready soon."

"Thank you," she replies.

 _I missed possum soup_ , she thinks as he walks out of the room.

It was something that he made most when she lived with him- at first she was hesitant, but after eating it she got used to it and grew to love it after the first few times. Most of the time they had to steal food, but when he _made_ food, it was mostly possum suit and she has to admit that he can _cook_. Basically McGucket and Stanley are the only ones that can cook in their family because Dipper can only make ramen noodles on the stove and Mabel can do the basics and Pacifica can only make ramen and breakfast, otherwise don't ask her to make anything else unless the kitchen needs to be burned down.

"Is possum soup good?" Mabel asks quietly.

Pacifica sits up and sees that her adoptive cousins are _definitely_ worse off than herself. They looked like they didn't have the energy to sit up- and she thought that _she_ was feeling terrible. She almost wishes that they could switch places in their progress of getting better. Almost.

"It's good," Pacifica assures. "Especially when a legit redneck makes it _right_."

Mabel smiles. "Sounds tasty."

"Alright, before you people eat, it's bath time!" Stanley falls, a little white foam on his shoulder while his brother walks out covered in foam. Everyone remaining in the room laughs at seeing Stanford until Stanley interrupts. "Bath time! Remember that?"

Mabel groans. "I don't wanna."

Pacifica gets up and grabs the other girl. "We're getting cleaned whether you like it or not."

With as much strength as her sick body would allow she pulls the brunette with her and walks towards the bathroom.

"Welp, guess you're gettin' cleaned in the bin," Stanley says, picking up his nephew.

Pacifica ignores them and grabs a couple of towels and wash cloths and their pajamas before dragging the girl into the bathroom. Mabel complains about being to sick to take a bath, but Pacifica talks her into it. They took turns, Pacifica mainly there to make sure the girl washes her entire body without passing out. Once she's sure Mabel's dry and in her blue, rainbow covered pajamas and in her bright orange robe Pacifica takes her shower as quickly as possible and feels absolutely amazing after she's done. Soon she ends up in her basketball shorts and pink pajama shirt along with her purple robe.

"I feel _so_ much better," Pacifica sighs as she runs her fingers through her clean blond hair. "What about you?"

"A little," Mabel shrugs. "I still can't breathe."

Pacifica grabs the nasal spray that was left on the bathroom counter and hands it to Mabel. "Use that."

Mabel follows the orders and then Pacifica wipes it off with a wet wipe and then uses it on herself while she can still halfway breathe. Pacifica leads Mabel back to the living room and McGucket's already there with a bowl of piping hot possum soup. Wendy and Soos are still there- despite how they were supposed to go home- eating on the couch, Dipper was sulking under a blanket with pink cheeks and still eating the food while he gets teased about being cleaned by Stanley like a child. Speaking of Stanley he was in his recliner glancing toward the hallway- probably looking for his brother- but eating food all the same.

"Ready fer some grub, gals?" McGucket asks.

" _Yes_ ," Pacifica replies, her stomach _roaring_ for her to eat something other than crackers. When he gives her a stern look she sighs and rolls her eyes. "Please, McGucket?"

He hands her a bowl of possum soup. "Can't ferget yer manners, sweetheart- it'll help ya."

"Yes, sir," she says with a warm smile. "Thank you for the food."

"No problem... an' how're you?" McGucket asks when Mabel steps forward to accept her food.

"I'm fine, how're you?"

Pacifica smiles and then goes to the floor next to Stanford and does a quick prayer before digging into her food. Her stomach seems to agree with it so she continues to eat. It was perfect until she got cold again and stopped being able to breathe through her nose anymore.

"You're a stubborn kid, aren't you," Stanley grunts as he puts a blanket around her shoulders.

"Guess I picked it up," Pacifica replies with an amused smirk.

He grunts. "Bet it was from 'Ford."

"And his twin," she adds and laughs when he pushes her with his foot.

"Brat," he grumbles, but smirks in amusement all the same.

"Old man."

McGucket cackles. "Ya can't win 'genst 'er Stan."

"That's right!" Pacifica says, giving him a high five as he walks by her to sit on the couch and Mabel settles beside her Pacifica.

"I'd fire you all if I could," Stanley grunts.

This causes a round of laughter and then soon everything gets quiet as they eat and watch TV together.

* * *

HAT: I couldn't think of a way to end it so... this happened.

McGucket: Ah'm in here a lot less than ya'd think ah'd be.

HAT: I know and I'm so disappointed in me! Though in the future you're _definitely_ showing up more.

McGucket: Does it have anything to do with the se-

HAT: When did you go through my plot papers?

McGucket: Yesterday, ya leave 'em lyin' 'round.

HAT: Well... shush, they don't know everything yet.

McGucket: Fine, then. Ah'll just say it.

HAT: Thank you, McGucket, I don't want them t know everything quite yet.

McGucket: I understand. *turns to camera* R'view, please!


	21. Chapter 21

HAT: Over 40,000 words of pure story... I'm still not close to done... *hangs head* Darn it... These chapters just keep getting longer and longer... Well, enjoy anyway!

(Edited)

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls Grunkle Stan would take his fez off more often... no real reason- just because. The only thing I own is the plot and OCs.**

* * *

It took about a week and a half for all three children to completely recover from their sickness. Just in time to have a little time to themselves before Christmas and choose the Christmas presents that they hadn't been able to get. Stanley decided to give them ten dollars each toget everyone a present, but Stanford managed to get him to hand over at least fifty dollars to each kid (Stanley was heartbroken at the loss of one hundred fifty dollars) and then they allowed them all to go on and buy their presents.

Pacifica decided to separate herself from both set of twins and walks around the mall to find a store that would call to her for each family member. She doesn't even walk into a store when she's ambushed by the two girls she once considered friends- or at least associates to make her image better.

"Hey, _Pacifica_ ," Jasmine- the girl with puffy brown hair wearing the pink dress- leers. "What're you doing here? I thought you were too broke to come here."

Pacifica crosses her arms over her chest. "Says the slowest girl on the team. I don't bother with having petty arguments with track trash like you."

Jasmine was one of the best until Pacifica came along and overtook her in track, but there was no need to give her any praise over her past accomplishments.

"Hn, I see the dork twins are back. I kinda feel sorry for you," Tiffany- the girl with magenta hair wearing the blue dress- says to change the subject. "It must suck to be stuck in a house full of freaks, weirdos, and losers."

"Wait, it makes sense," Jasmine says.

"Why?"

"Because she's a freak, weirdo, _and_ a loser!"

They laugh and Pacifica's anger grows. "Shut up! You rich people make me sick."

"Newsflash, honey, you were up here with us before you fell from grace," Jasmine snaps.

Pacifica rolls her eyes and decides to ignore the false statement. "Yeah, _whatever_."

Tiffany shoves Pacifica. "Oops! Sorry... not really."

"I think we're gonna get those twins-" Jasmine starts, but stutters to a stop when Pacifica stands in her face in an instant with rage in her azure eyes.

"Don't you dare threaten them."

"We're not threatening, we're going to do," Tiffany says, earning a glare and making the girl with dyed hair take a step back, as if realizing just _who_ she's dealing with- just like Jasmine.

"If you so much as blow a hair out of place on their heads I promise-"

"What? You're gonna do what? You ain't got no money to threaten us with," Tiffany snaps.

Pacifica grits her teeth. "You don't know what I can do without money. Stay away from my family or else you'll find out."

Jasmine scoffs. "Let's go, Tiff, if we stay with this _trash_ anymore, we'll stink, too."

Pacifica scoffs and watches them walk away before she turns and goes back to looking for Christmas presents, ignoring the judgmental stares of the others around her.

A pariah- that's what this town has made her. They don't care if their shunning her hurts or if they talk bad about the people she cares about when she can hear them. When she really thinks about it she was always this way. They only went to her for money, but when it came to companionship they didn't want to give it to her without getting something out of her that would benefit them. Now that she doesn't have any they want to get back at her for everything that she's ever done or at her parents because they still hold power and she happens to be there blood. The fact that she's a child or the fact that she was disowned and thrown out or that she had gone through too many terrible things didn't matter to them.

 _They aren't worth it_ , she tries to convince herself, but she can't help the overwhelming feeling of defeat at their rejection. No, she doesn't need them- she needs her family and they have her back- but she'd like for them to stop treating her less than the dirt under their feet.

She had wandered into a random store and was looking for something for Dipper- these things looked like they would be of interest for him- and most of the ones she's eager to get him cost most of the money that she has and she has to be sparing otherwise she won't be able to get everyone else their presents.

"Pacifica?"

She turns around and finds a familiar black head of hair and hazel eyes staring at her with the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Travis?"

He smiles genuinely and walks forward with his hans stuffed in his jean pockets. "How's it going?"

"Good," she shrugs. "What're you doing here?"

"I was Christmas shopping with my brother, but then he ditched me for his friends," he answers. "What about you?"

"Christmas shopping. We all went our separate ways to get presents for each other."

Travis frowns. "That's a little dangerous isn't it? Y'know, being around the mall by yourself?"

She raises an eyebrow at him. "And it isn't dangerous for you?"

He scoffs. "It _is_ dangerous for me, but I make sure to stay in sight of a lot of people since I'm not with my brother."

Pacifica nods. "Okay..."

"Um..." Travis scratches the back of his neck nervously. "You want me to walk around with you? Safety in numbers, y'know?"

After taking a moment to think she realizes that she's just as vulnerable in the mall as she is in a dark alley at night and she remembers how that ended up last time. Images of that night flash back unwillingly- Dan's eyes illuminating the darkness, the wicked grin, the pain... oh, the pain...

"Yeah... thanks," she says.

He hooks his thumbs in his pockets. "Need any help?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to find something that costs nineteen dollars or less for my cousin, Dipper," she says.

He raises an eyebrow. "Nineteen dollars or less? How much money did you get?"

"Fifty dollars for seven people," she answers.

He puts his face over his face then lowers it to rub his chin in thought before his hazel eyes brighten. "I know someone that'll make you stuff that'll last for a while that costs only a little. He's about a year older than us."

Pacifica's hand brushes against her pocket with the money in it. "How much?"

"Depends on what you request and such, but most of the time it's a whole lot less than fifty dollars and he's a real pushover so we can talk him down."

"You're startin' to sound like my papa," she says with a smirk before- internally- she cracks at the realization that _she's_ starting to sound like said man.

He chuckles and holds out an arm to her. "Let's go, we gotta get there before his shift ends."

With a roll of her eyes she walks toward the exit. "C'mon."

He quickly gets unto step with her. "So- uh... I- uh- I was thinking that maybe... uh- we could- we could meet each other for Christmas? W-when you're free?"

The girl looks at the slightly taller boy and tries to think of what he's getting at. "Why?"

"I may not be your friend yet, but I'll treat you like my friend anyway," he says with a sweet smile.

"Why do you wanna be my friend again?"

He pauses, but keeps walking. "Huh, I never really thought about it... well- uh- you're strong-willed, you don't care about what others think, you're really sweet even though you act all hard, and you're not afraid to stand up for what's right..." As he talks his voice gets more confident and he stops for a second and looks in her eyes. "I think that you can help me come out of my shell... I think that I can help you come out of yours too... uh!- that is- if you'll let me."

She nods and averts her eyes because she can't bring herself to look at his sincere gaze. "Let's just get to your guy..."

He grins and nods. "Sure. I think you two are gonna get along well."

* * *

HAT: Shorter than normal? Yes. As you can see it's calming down a little... and at the same time not. Wait till you see what's in store for the future chapters.

Tyler: Write 'em! Write 'em!

HAT: ... as a grown man you should _not_ be so adorable.

Tyler: *gasps with a grin* I am?

HAT: As much as I hate to admit it- yes.

Tyler: D'aww, shucks! Thank you, HAT!

HAT: Would you please say it?

Tyler: Review, please.

HAT: C'mon, who can resist a face like that? *points to Tyler's face*


	22. Chapter 22

AT: Christmas stuff outside of Christmas... *shrugs* Well, gotta do what you gotta do. Enjoy!

(Edited)

 **Disclaimer: You know... if I owned Gravity Falls I probably would've had Dipper- for one episode- get turned into an old man or baby... hey, that's an idea!**

* * *

The rest of the walk is uneventful. Travis is too nervous to talk without stuttering so he settles for walking in silence- much to Pacifica's relief. His stuttering annoyed her if she were being honest, _but_ she's learned to deal with it at a young age and so it didn't bother her as much as it could have. Her aunt started to stutter and talk a little slower than she used to after her stroke so Pacifica quickly got used to it so as not to be rude and shame her parents by being rude to family, but she made fun of others her age. Now she tolerates it and barely notices it.

Travis holds the door open for her and follows her in. "This is where he works, with his sister."

"What're their names?"

"Crystal and Dre," he answers as he walks forward. "Hey, Dre! Crystal! I gotta friend here that wants to see you."

"What for?" A older girl's voice calls.

"Tryinnaget some Christmas presents without going over her budget!" Travis calls and then leans against the counter and watches the door.

"Was'er budget?"

"Twenty-five," Travis answers.

"What?" Pacifica whispers in confusion.

He winks at her. "Tryinna save you some money. Take out twenty-five real quick and put it in the other pocket."

She does as told. "You've done this before?"

The black haired boy shrugs. "Gotta save some money sometimes. Besides, you gotta save your money for a rainy day."

"Thanks," she murmurs just as the door opens.

Standing there is a tan young woman that's about sixteen with short wavy dark brown hair and brown eyes wearing a red shirt with the store name on her left side and her name tag saying Crystal. She's slightly short for her age and is a bit more heavy set, but not fat at all. Next comes out a boy looking about a year older than Pacifica and Travis and very similar to the girl that walked out, but he's her height and has an athletic build and has a scar under his left eye.

"Pacifica N- Pines is your new friend?" The boy asks incredulously.

Travis glances at Pacifica. "She's not a friend yet, but I'm working on it. So could you help her out, guys?"

"Sure," Crystal says. "Whaddoyou have in mind, sweetie?"

Pacifica's taken aback by the kindness, but accepts it nonetheless. "Um... I dunno, Travis brought me here... whaddoyou have?"

"We make a lotta things out of wood and other things. Depends on what you want," Dre answers with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, I'm getting Christmas presents for seven people, but I don't have much money," Pacifica explains.

"Okay then... what do you want for each person?" Dre asks while leaning against the counter with what could be a flirtatious grin, but also could be one with mischievousness.

"Um... a piggy bank for my papa," she says without any hesitation- she knew what she was getting him as soon as she realized how much money she would probably save. "And for my uncle... I think a dreamcatcher necklace would be cool..."

"Why?" Crystal asks.

 _He has nightmares sometimes and I want to keep Bill away from him_ , Pacifica thinks. "No real reason... and a unicorn necklace for my cousin and a..." She pauses and thinks about something for Dipper before she remembers something she read on the internet. "A whale tale necklace for my other cousin... a werewolf sculpture for a friend and a coffee mug with multi-colored question marks and saying 'World's Best Handyman' in rainbow colors, too... could you do that for me?"

Crystal smiles with a hint of mischievousness in her features as she finished writing the order. "What can't we do?"

"You want them before Christmas Eve right?" Dre asks and when Pacifica nods he says, "Don't worry, we'll get it done. It'll all be ready in a week."

"Thank you guys," Pacifica says.

Travis grins. "You guys are the best."

"We try," the siblings say in unison.

"You said twenty-five dollars? Sure you don't have anymore? That's a lotta stuff," Dre questions gently.

Travis frowns as Pacifica pulls out twenty-five dollars and ands it over to Crystal. "André..."

"You know I'm just messin'!"

"You're good," Pacifica assures, finding the both of them to be charismatic and she can respect their want for more money for all that she's having them do for her.

"Do you wanna get everything at once or do you wanna get everything bit by bit?" Dre asks.

"Bit by bit, please? It'd be hard to smuggle everything in all at once to wrap them," she admits.

"Alright, you'll get 'em as we get 'em done," the brunette boy replies.

Travis gently pulls Pacifica by the arm to turn towards him to walk out, but smiles at his friend and his sister. "Thanks, Dre. See you later. Grandmamma still cooking the ham?"

"Yeah, we'll be bringing it to... we'll bring it to Travis and have him bring it to you," Crystal says.

"Thanks," Pacifica says.

"Bye," Travis says.

"Bye," the reply.

Pacifica allows herself to be led by Travis out of the store and after walking out of the store and out of its sight does he drop his hand back to his side. He seemed to be really eager to get out of the store from people that seem to be his friends, but then again it's not her business... but he wants to be her friend so she should be entitled to a little questioning.

"What was that all about?"

He shrugs. "They're my friends- family more like it- but they have a habit of talking too much and keeping you there for a while... and they have all the embarrassing stories on me."

Pacifica smirks in amusement at the thought of staying longer to hear the embarrassing stories about the boy walking beside her. "That's what all families have."

Travis kicks an empty water bottle across the floor and glances up at her. So- uh- do you wanna go shopping with the last of your money?"

"No, not really," she admits.

"Wanna grab something to eat? It's about lunch time," he says.

Her stomach doesn't growl, but it does tighten and make her want some food immediately. "Yeah... I can go for some food."

Without another word the two start the walk toward the food court. This is when Pacifica starts to notice looks towards Travis. They range from anger to disgust to shock and Pacifica doesn't really know why Travis is ignoring al of them. He makes it seem so easy to ignore them because all he does is walk with his eyes towards his destination or turn to check on her or make eye contact with her when he speaks with her. Pacifica's spent years ignoring people and months ignoring the ridicule and hatred of these people but as far as she knows this is his first time.

"How do you do it?" She suddenly asks.

He makes a face that is a mixture of amusement and confusion- a smile tugging at his lips while his eyebrows lower and come together. "What do you mean? Look so good?"

He isn't ugly, but he isn't handsome either. He's kind of cute and the reason that she would say that is because he has the makings go becoming a handsome young man. He has high cheekbones, a strong jaw, and a straight nose and he has broad shoulders, but he's still got that baby fat that makes him only cute.

She rolls her eyes. "No, not that... ignore them."

"Oh, that," he murmurs before shrugging. "It's easy, I guess. I mean, with my friends I never gave 'em a care before... why start now?"

Pacifica blinks in surprise before smiling a little at that comment. Maybe he's friend material after all? They walk up to the counter of the pizza joint in the food court and Travis orders a meat-lover's pizza and Pacifica orders herself a regular pepperoni pizza. Pacifica moves to take out her money to pay for her pizza when Travis holds a hand out to her.

"Hold on, I've got it," he assures, handing the money to the cashier and getting his change. When he notices her slightly annoyed and confused look he smiles in amusement. "It's only right for me to pay for you- after all, I'm the one trying to beyour friend."

She nods and allows it with reluctance. "You're way too nice to be true."

"Not everyone outside of your family are mean and manipulative... just a lot of them I guess," he murmurs while sitting down at a table.

Pacifica takes a bite of her pizza to gather her thoughts and when she swallows she says, "Guess that's why you're on a trial period."

Travis smiles and then merrily digs into his food.

They eat and not much else is said. Soon they're left with their drinks and their trash and soon enough Pacifica's beckoned by another... and by "another" she means Mabel and by "beckoned" she means dragged. Travis moves to grab her hand, but stops when Pacifica doesn't protest.

"Pacifica! We've been looking everywhere for you!" Mabel says while her twin walks forward.

"I thought you were going Christmas shopping, not on a date," Dipper says.

"It's not a date," Pacifica snaps before crossing her arms. "And I did go Christmas shopping."

Dipper rolls his eyes. "Well, Grunkle Stan says it's time to go."

"Okay," Pacifica replies and then turns to the black haired boy. "Bye, Travis."

"Bye, Pacifica," he replies with a wave and holds out her drink. "Don't forget that."

"Thanks."

As the twins lead her away they grin mischievously and ask in sync, "Got a boyfriend?"

Sapphire eyes roll. "He's not my boyfriend. He's not even a friend."

Dipper frowns. "He seemed pretty friendly to me. You were acting like he was your friend-"

"Or boyfriend," Mabel teases.

"You're the boy crazy one, not me. Have at him if you want," Pacifica scoffs, though feels kind of bad after saying that, knowing how... forceful Mabel can be with boys that she likes.

 _He can survive Mabel... I think_ , Pacifica thinks.

They walk into the parking lot where Stanley stands twirling his keys and catching them repetitively like he always does when waiting for someone.

"What took you kids so long?" Stanley demands.

"We found Pacifica on a _date_ ," Mabel says.

Stanley raises an eyebrow at Pacifica since he knows how Mabel exaggerates things and when Pacifica shakes her head he shrugs. "Let's go."

And the Pines family clambers in the car and drive home, all with Pacifica being teased by Mabel.

* * *

HAT: I haven't decided whether or not Pacifica and Travis should be a future couple, but for now I'm working on making them friends, but whether or not they get together in the future, I figured Mabel would tease her about it.

Mabel: It looks like a date to me!

HAT: I know it does, but- *sighs* Never mind... wait, I thought Waddles was supposed to be here.

Mabel: Grunkle Stan's giving him a bath.

HAT: *snorts and laughs* How'd you talk him into that?

Mabel: Let's just say I have my ways.

HAT: *giggles* Stickers?

Mabel: *nods* Stickers.

HAT: *snickers and then falls over and all out laughs* Oh- oh my gosh! I can only imagine how that'd go.

Mabel: *turns to camera* Review pretty please with sprinkles on top!


	23. Chapter 23

HAT: I know there's a bit of confusion so to clarify since this was written before _A Tale of Two Stans_ , Stanford= Grunkle Stan, and Stanley= Author of the Journals. Will not be changed because going back to edit this will be the biggest pain I will ever have faced.

(Edited)

 **Disclaimer: Gravity Falls isn't mine, just the plot and OCs like Travis and Dan and... that one guy.**

* * *

It was easy enough to get the presents, wrap them, and stash them throughout the next week. The first things she got were the necklaces and the next was the coffee mug. Now she knows that she excluded McGucket when it comes to getting presents from André and Crystal, but that's only because she couldn't think of anything that he'd _want_. He constantly says, "I got er'thang ah need right here" while patting his chest and that means with himself. Last time she tried to give him _her_ food he rejected it- and he loves food- so she's at a dead end with coming up with a present for him (A/N: Aaaand so am I).

"P'cifica."

"Yes," she says distractedly, having been lost in thought for a little while.

"Ah'm gettin' married and movin' ta G'ōga (A/N: Georgia) t'mahrrah."

"That's ni- wait what?!" She demands while turning and looking at him.

His cerulean eyes roll in amusement. "Ya weren't payin' me any mind- figured ya'd respond ta that. What's on yer mind, sweetheart?"

She can't let him know about his present- whether she has one in mind or not- so she settles for one of the other things that have been bothering her. "I was... I was thinking about my old friends... I ran into them at the mall and they threatened to ruin Dipper and Mabel's lives..."

"Well, that is a predicament," he mutters before shrugging. "But you know what ya gotta do."

The blond's eyebrows lower in confusion. "What?"

His sapphire eyes look directly into her own. "Ya gotta protect 'em. They're family. If someun's gonna hurt ya family and ya know 'bout it, ya gotta know if they should know 'bout it and ya gotta step up ta protect 'em... I know ya cayrah 'bout those two- or ya would've let 'em die on tha cliff. An' I know yer not 'fraid of those two- yer too feisty fer that-" he half jokes and earns himself a playful shove. "But in s'rusness, ah know you ken handle yerself an' that yer tha twoah them."

She smiles. "Thanks, McGucket."

He reaches over and ruffles her hair. "No problem, sweetheart... naow, if i 'member correctly, yer supposed ta be goin' shoppin' 'round' town?"

"Ugh..."

He cackles. "C'mon, P'cifica."

She stands up and walks beside him while he chatters. Most stores won't let him in so he waits outside for her. She and the twins aren't allowed to be out and about without at least one other person with them- safety in numbers- so if she goes into town McGucket is often with her.

Pacifica walks into the hardware store since Soosneeded a new hammer since he broke the last one- long story, don't ask- and immediately gets lost and she hasn't even taken a good two steps into the store yet. Everything here is over her head.

"Excuse me, sir, where are the hammers?" Pacifica asks an employee.

He glares at her. "Find it yourself."

She scowls and walks away from the rude man and roams down the isles in search of hammers. This store is so run down that it doesn't even have anything over each isle to let customers know where anything would be- in her opinion the hardware store needed to get some work done.

"Pacifica?"

 _Why is everyone shocked to see me everywhere?_ She wonders and turns around to see someone she never thought she'd see again. "James?!"

The butler nods. "Yes, ma'am."

She grimaces. "Please don't call me that."

"Yes m-" He pauses to clear his throat before speaking again without the Brittish accent- this time it sounds... _country_. "Alright."

"I thought you were Brittish!"

He sighs. "Your p- the Northwests wanted someone that sounded professional so I use the accent at the mansion. Sometimes I forget to drop it and scare my wife."

That explains so much. "What're you doing here?"

"Buying tools because the incompetent handyman doesn't have the right tools," James explains with an eye roll before observing her. "I'm glad that you're safe... are you happy living wit the Pines?"

She nods. "Yeah. They're the best... how're things back at the mansion?"

He sighs. "Difficult, but I can bear it. They've been taking a lot of anger out on the servants for little things- especially Margaret, but I intercede and take most of the punishment."

Pacifica lowers her head in shame. By her leaving she made the servants have to go through her parent's abuse since they had nothing to take their anger out on anymore. She can never do anything right, it seems.

"I'm sorry..."

"What for? We're all happy that you're not being hurt anymore. So long as we know you're away from those two sorry excuses for parents, we're perfectly happy and able to live with their unfortunate antics."

Pacifica smiles just a little. "How's Margaret?"

"Fine. I'm sure she'll be glad to know you're happy living with a nice family... now M- Pacifica, what are you doing here?"

She gestures to the tools. "Trying to find the hammers, but the guy in front wouldn't help me."

He frowns. "That won't do. I'll show you where they are."

She follows him a few isles over and he grabs a hammer and hands it to her. "How much is this?"

"Twenty bucks," he answers (A/N: Trying to picture the butler with a country/southern (any kind you want to imagine) accent saying this... it's not working). "It's a good model, lasts a long time. It'll be worth it."

"Thanks, James. Will you tell everyone at the mansion that I'm... I'm sorry about how I treated all of you-"

"You weren't taught any better," he reassures. "Is that all you need from here?"

"Yes, sir."

He seems to be startled at the respect in her voice, but he covers it up and leads her to the cash register and has her pay for her items first, giving the cashier a stern glare when he started to input something- probably make the price higher- but he stops and then hands her the bag with a "have a nice day" in the most sarcastic way possible. She ignores him and walks a few paces away and turns to James as he starts to check out.

"Thank you," she says. "I've gotta go. Tell everyone I say hi."

"I will, Pacifica. Have a nice day," he replies as he holds the door open for her.

She walks over to McGucket. "I got the hammer for Soos."

He adjusts his hat and picks up the bags that she left him with. "Alright, sweetheart, time ta go home."

She grabs a few of the bags from him and they walk together away from the town to start the long walk back to the Shack.

Neither of them mind and- at first- Pacifica had a conniption when she saw him in his usual summer attire so gave him one of her oversized long-sleeved shirts that she bought at a store before she ran away and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. She even talked Stanford into giving him a spare pair of winter boots and asked Mabel if she could make him mittens and now he wears all of this every time he comes over or goes out- even inside the shelter, she found out one time.

They finally get to the Shack and go immediately to the kitchen to drop off the bags and then go into the living room to warm up under thick blankets.

"How was shopping?" Stanford asks as he reads the newspaper- though she doesn't know why since it's filled with cheesy gossip and made up stories.

"Good," Pacifica answers the six-fingered man as she leans back in the couch.

"Pacifica!" Mabel calls and jumps onto her with a grin. "Guess what?"

Pacifica blinks in surprise. "Uhhh..."

"I was in Grunkle Stan's room and I found a-"

"Alright, kid, none of that," Stanley grunts as he uses one arm to pick Mabel up and cover her mouth on his way to the kitchen. "Just because you saw one person's present doesn't mean you have to blurt it to everyone."

Mabel mumbles something into his hand, but it's muffled to the point that it's not discernible.

"Ooookay..."

Three days until Christmas and there is still one person that she hasn't gotten a present for and that's McGucket. She can't think of anything that he'd want. He's happy with just having a lazy day and stealing hot dogs- and she was happy with that, too, but now she has more people in her life than just McGucket- her family grew and so did her attachment to them. Any mechanical wonder, he can make for himself and any tools he can just get from the junkyard. She can't think of _anything_ to get him.

 _I'm getting desperate_ , she thinks as she glances towards Stanford in the kitchen and then back at McGucket who is tinkering with a new invention. She gets up from the couch and starts toward the kitchen, but is stopped by her father figure's voice.

"Where ya goin' P'cifica?" He asks without looking up from his tinkering- she figures that because he had raised a child before that he had a natural gift for being able to sense when a child is up to something.

That doesn't mean that she's gonna admit to anything. "I'm gonna go take Shmebulock for a walk. C'mon, Shmeb!"

"Shmebulock!" The gnome shouts and follows Pacifica.

"Alright, don't take too long," he grumbles.

She walks into the kitchen and grabs her guardian and pulls him outside.

"Whoa, it's too cold outside for that," Stanley grunts.

"It'll be real quick, I promise. I just wanted to ask what I should get McGucket for Christmas."

Stanley shrugs. "I dunno, money?"

She frowns. "Papa Stan, you know he doesn't care for money."

"I dunno how to help you, kid, McGucket's a mystery to me... are you done?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna walk Shmeb for a little while."

"Okay."

She walks around with the gnome who romps in the snow for about twenty minutes before they head back. It's interesting to have a gnome around. He often likes sitting in her lap and taking a nap and she found out that gnomes purr when you pet their beard. Who knew?

"You hungry?" She asks.

"Shmebulock!" He nods.

"I think there's some hot dots in the fridge," she says as she opens the door for him. She kicks the snow off her boots and then sets them to the side before checking the fridge. She makes a couple of hot dogs and gives them to gnome before she peeks into the living room and sees Stanley laughing with McGucket. That's who she has to ask next and if he doesn't work then she'll have to resort to the Soos, Wendy, Mabel, and Dipper. After that she's out of options.

 _I'l do that after McGucket goes to bed._

Turns out she can't outlast McGucket in staying up late because when she opens her eyes next she finds that she's in the attic and the door is barely a crack and being closed.

* * *

HAT: This was kind of a filler chapter- admittedly- so it kinda completely fell apart somewhere.

Dan: *walks in* Wassup.

HAT: *glares*

Dan: *pouts* C'mon, HAT, you made me the bad guy on here.

HAT: I know, but that still doesn't mean I like it.

Dan: *face palms* I'm sorry for "beating up" Pacifica.

Pacifica: *pops head in* You can-

HAT: Get outta here, Pacifica, he's too old for you to even think about flirting with... and that would've been inappropriate.

Pacifica: *scoffs* Whatever. *smiles and waves flirtatiously at Dan* See ya, Dan.

HAT: *rolls eyes*

Dan: Uh... bye.

HAT: Say it so I can get you to a safe place before Mabel comes here and locks you away like she did with her favorite boy band- don't ask.

Dan: Please review! *dragged away by HAT*


	24. Chapter 24

HAT: ... I don't know what to say other than- if you don't care for the OC Travis, just skip this entire thing and read the last line. Enjoy if you read.

(THE LAST EDIT! YES, YES, YES! *plays _Celebrate Good Times_ and dances* ENJOY!)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls, however the plot and OCs belong to me.**

* * *

She never found out what to give McGucket, but she managed to get a gift for Travis- she figured it would be rude and would disappoint McGucket if the boy brought something for her and she gave him nothing in return. So what she decides to give him is her time. It's not something she gives to him all of the time and she feels terrible for not having gotten him anything else...

Christmas morning for regular people is seven in the morning, but for the Pines family Christmas morning starts at eleven instead. Mabel is the one to wake her up and- at first- Pacifica is ready to murder her cousin, but after several more seconds she realizes what day it is and throws the covers off and follows the brunette down the stairs to find the all of the guys there already.

"'bout time ya woke up," McGucket chuckles.

Pacifica blushes and scratches the back of her head. "S-sorry to keep you guys waiting."

She sits down by her pile and picks up the one from Mabel- like everyone else does- and Mabel sits excitedly. Each of them open their presents and Pacifica gets a new beanie- like Pacifica had been asking for. Each person gets their own unique gift and it's nice to talk and laugh. Pacifica ends up with the beanie, a gold chain necklace, an MP3, headphones, a friendship bracelet and- the most unbelievable of all the presents- a cellphone (all the children got one).

Then it's time for them to open her presents.

Stanford raises an eyebrow at her. "Do I want to know?" She shakes her head. "Okay, then."

Mabel nearly tackles Pacifica at seeing her necklace and Dipper fist bumps her. Stanley's the one that she's sure will be the best- he has the best reactions to everything for some reason and she's looking forward to this one more than the others.

"A... piggy... bank," he mumbles.

"Look inside," Pacifica orders.

He opens the bottom and pulls out the remaining ten dollars. He blinks in surprise before giving her an affectionate hug while ruffling her still messy hair. She takes a bow off of her present and puts it on her forehead and holds out her hand to a confused McGucket.

"I couldn't think of anything that you'd want for Christmas, so the best thing I could think to give you is my time."

McGucket smiles and hugs her. "That's sweet, darlin', an' I would love nothin' more than ta spend tahday with you..."

"But?"

" _But_ you're a kid. Spend yer time doing kid things tahday, ah'll take ya up on tha off'r t'mahrrah."

"Are you sure?"

"Go on, sweetheart."

She kisses his cheek then both Stanley and Stanford's cheeks, flicks Dipper's ear- gently- and ruffles Mabel's hair. "I have to go get Wendy's gift."

"You didn't buy it yet?" Dipper asks incredulously.

She frowns. "I got it... I had to hide it outside of the house because she started snooping a week ago."

"Makes sense," Stanley grunts.

She goes upstairs and gets ready for the day. She pulls on a pair of blue jeans, a regular white t-shirt, and over that she throws on her black leather jacket- it used to be Stanford's so she feels like she's embodying him in a weird way. Then she throws on her beanie and grabs Travis' present and starts down the stairs. Travis said he'd be in the forest near the shack around noon- apparently he and his family are regular people that get their Christmas present opening over with early- so she'll get Wendy's present and give him his present and then go back home and take Shmebulock for a walk.

"Don't forget your cellphone!" Stanley grunts.

She's so used to not having a cellphone that it's odd to have to remember one. She grabs it and stuffs it into her pocket before going out to get Wendy's present but then she notices Shmebulock looks so eager to outside with her that she can't just leave him inside.

"Okay, let's go for a walk."

She walks out and closes the door after herself before walking into the forest. Shembulock frolics in the clearing around the Shack at first, but then makes his way towards the snow and she giggles when he sinks into the frozen water.

"Shmebulock!" He tries to make his way through the snow and ends up resting against a tree.

She walks a few meters into the forest and climbs the tree to the third lowest branch and puts her hand in the abandoned hole in the tree and grabs the box inside. She climbs down and walks over to Shmebulock and puts the present next to him.

"Guard that for me, will ya?"

"Shmebulock," said gnome nods.

"Pacifica!"

She looks up at the call from Travis and sighs. "I'm here!"

Pacifica walks towards his voice and has Shmebulock stay in place with Wendy's present. When he sees her he jogs over to her and she stops.

"Hey!" He says with a grin.

"Hi. What's up? I've got ten minutes before I have to go back to the house."

He sighs. "You don't want friends do you?"

"I've got enough in my family," she says. "Don't you have friends?"

 _Oh, shit_ , she thinks when he lowers his head.

"Not really... They stopped wanting to be around me as soon as we got into middle school... the only one that bothers with me is my brother."

"Oh... sorry."

He holds up a box. "Um, here... I got this for you."

She takes it and gives him the present she got him. "Here."

He blinks in surprise, but regardless he automatically says, "Thanks." She knows that he's getting a silver chain necklace so she doesn't bother watching his reaction and instead opens the gift. It's a keychain and on it is a wooden leaf. She glances up at him with confused sapphire eyes and he chuckles. "Well, I learned that leaves represent happiness and I thought it'd be a good luck charm or something."

"Thanks," she says and attaches the keychain to her keys.

"Am I in the friend zone yet?" She narrows her eyes and scrutinizes him and opens her mouth to say "no" but ringing comes from his pocket. He smiles apologetically and answers the phone. "Hi, mom... what?... When?!... I'll be there soon... bye."

Pacifica watches him carefully- his lower lip is quivering slightly and his eyes are distant and shining more than usual. "What's wrong?"

"My... my brother's in the hospital."

Pacifica blinks and doesn't know what she can say other than, "I'm sorry."

"I gotta go," he says.

"Let my papa give you a ride, he'll get you there fast."

He nods and she leads him back to the Shack and she stops and gets Shmebulock and Wendy's present for a split second and then enters the Shack with Travis behind her.

"Who's this?" Stanley demands.

"He's Travis," she quickly says while placing Shmebulock on the floor and tossing Wendy's present on the couch. "Could you take him to the hospital? He just got a call from his mom that his brother's there."

He frowns. "I will. Pacifica, go grab my jacket." She grabs his winter coat and hands it to her guardian and he puts a strong hand on the boy's shoulder. "C'mon."

Pacifica remembers when she got a call similar to that about the only person she cared about in her previous family. She was left in the back seat by herself to deal with it and her parents didn't even care all that much. Even though she's not the best at comforting anyone, she feels that having anyone there with him is better than nothing.

The entire ride there she tries to keep him talking, but he's too much in shock. She jogs with him into the hospital and notices Dan leaning against the wall a few feet from the wall with a smirk. He points to Pacifica and Travis and points to the hospital as if to say, "You're next." Before she can call attention to him he turns and walks away into the nearby forest.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Pacifica asks Travis when she catches up.

He shakes his head and shrugs. "I don't know... I just gotta go up and see him."

Pacifica can't help, but be worried about him and holds out her hand. "What's your phone number."

"Wha-"

"I'm putting your number in my phone so I can text you. You're gonna need someone to talk to." He tells her his phone number and she texts him in that instant so he'll have the unmemorized number. "Let me know if anything happens."

"Okay."

Then the nurse leads him up to see his brother. Pacifica walks out and gets into the car with fear in her gut.

"You okay?" Stanford asks.

"Y-yeah," she stutters and then clears her throat. "Just worried... that's all."

 _Dan's after us..._

* * *

HAT: I know, I know, I know, but listen, Linda- er- I mean people. *presses pause on video* I'm trying to lean toward realistic. Realistically she's not gonna just hang around _just_ her family forever. Realistically- in this scenario- she won't end up with Dipper or Mabel or either Stan (*shudders at thought*) and there's a good chance that she won't end up with any of the main characters. Also I don't plan on her having any sort of romantic relationship at all in this story.

"Stanley" (since he's really Stanford): How many OCs?

HAT: In this? Two and a half. In all?... six and a half about.

"Stanley": Half?

HAT: Travis' brother who was mentioned once.

"Stanley": Mhm... review everyone.


	25. Chapter 25

HAT: I decided to add this chapter anyway, it's not like you go back and read it before reading the new chapter. And yes, this will be going off the correct names and I'm having the twins call 'Ford their grunkle like they should... Or I will since they don't talk to him in this chapter. If you guys see any mistakes after everything's edited in past chapters like I didn't switch a Stanley/ford or the twins call 'Ford their grandpa, let me know. It's still gonna be a pain to edit, but I'm not gonna make you wait over something I failed to do earlier.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing aside from the plot and OCs.**

* * *

It was a rough week.

Pacifica- though not really having any attachment to Travis at all- finds herself hoping and prayed that his brother makes it. It reminds her of when she lost her grandfather- the only man in her family when she was a Northwest that genuinely cared about her at all. She tried to be there with him for every moment, but her cold-blooded parents ripped her away and she never to the chance to say goodbye. She had to hear his last words through James.

Despite that, she couldn't dwell on Travis and his problems with his brother, she has to focus on dealing with this Dan business. She has to do whatever she can to protect, not just herself, but her entire family. She saw him ear the Shack once and refused to let anyone go anywhere for two days. This makes her more even determined to finish things with Dan and get him out of her life for the rest of her life.

At the moment the Stans are busy with tours and the younger set of twins are busy watching Duck-tective so she's free to snoop through her uncle's stuff to find out what he's learned about _expers bestia_ so far. She set a timer on her phone and placed it in her back pocket before she started looking through the papers scattered on the desk.

The notes are scattered and not written in any way that would be decoded by anyone other than it's writer. He seems to be just as confused as she is when Pacifica truly sits down and looks at these notes. It has a bunch of question marks and theories like using holy water and such, but none of them are able to be tested. She doesn't get anything out of his notes other than pure confusion and just as many questions as she has.

 _He's never seen one before and he can't exactly stalk someone as easily as before_ , she thinks as she looks at a piece of paper that looks like it was scribbled on to get frustrations out instead of be used for notes like it started out to be when he wrote "targets one person?" and then the ink was everywhere and there were even a few holes. and tears. She doesn't blame him, she finds herself doing the same thing when she starts thinking about something that's stumped her.

The phone vibrates in her back pocket and she slips out of her uncle's room while glancing both directions. She makes it a few feet before she hears a door open and she turns to find Stanford standing there with his usual indifferent look on his face. She freezes and stares up at him, unable to say anything.

"Come here," he orders while becoming her with one six-fingered hand. Once she's standing in front of him he grabs her jaw with one hand and holds up a flashlight to shine in both of her eyes in the other. She blinks rapidly once she's released to try to get her eyes readjusted to the light. "What were you doing in my room?"

Immediately her mind starts looking for lies. "I was looking-"

"Tell me the truth, Pacifica."

She looks up at him with warily and slowly says, "I was looking at your research. I wanted to review a few things."

Not a complete lie. She did want to review what he knew about the _expers_ _beastia_.

"Like what?"

"Like how to take care of Shmeb. I've been feeding him a lot of things and I've been worried that half of what I feed him are bad for him."

That doesn't seem to detour him from prying for more information and so he asks, "So what's healthy for a gnome?"

"Red meat and vegetables. They shouldn't have chocolate too much and they're allergic to cherries."

His chocolate eyes scrutinize her for several seconds before he makes a noise between a grunt and a "tsk" and waves her off. "Go on, get outta here... and stay outta my shit."

"Yes, Uncle Stan," she replies and walks away, feeling his eyes on her back until she rounds the next corner.

It was worth a shot, but it was all in vain.

She walks away with her mind filled with worry. What will she do when Dan comes back? Who knows what he'll do to her or her new cousins- or technically step-siblings when she thinks about it- _Stop, Pacifica. Focus. You've gotta come up with a plan to keep your family safe._

"Shmebulock," said gnome whines and tugs on her sweat pants.

She absentmindedly picks him up a d egis to pet his beard, but he struggles a little and ends up standing on her arm and looking at her. "What?"

"Shmebulock," he says quietly.

 _He probably knows that I'm not feeling okay,_ she thinks. "Let's go for a walk."

She grabs her switchblades and puts one in each pocked and her phone in a her bra- no need for Dan to know that she has one- and then gets ready to go outside. After getting Shmebulock ready she leads him outside. She doesn't keep him on a leash- she learned fast that he stays close- so she just walks with him tromping through the snow around her.

She keeps her right hand curled around the switch blade- her old one- and walks with mild interest in the world around her. It's only when she hears an extra set of footsteps other than her own does she slow down and clicks her tongue twice, a quiet signal that the Pines developed to have Shmebulock hide just in case some strangers come by. Once he's done that she has a little more ease in her mind and can focus on the other set of footsteps.

Pacifica's heartbeat begins to pick up as the footsteps pick up and get closer. When they're right behind her she pulls out her switchblade and twirls around with it pointed toward whoever followed her and she was right to do so because unnaturally bright blue eyes meet hers, but unfortunately he catches her wrist.

"Nice try, but not gonna happen," he murmurs and twists her wrist so that the weapon falls into the snow below.

"What do you want?"

Dan runs his three hand through his dirty blond hair and smirks. "Suffering... it gets me off, y'know? Something about seeing others in pain is really... satisfying. I'm sure you remember. Back when you were making people miserable for fun."

She grits her teeth and glares at him with a hatred that she didn't know she could possess. She doesn't want to remember who she used to be, but- like always- no one wants to let her forget it.

"What do you want?"

He chuckles. "I want to see you suffer... you know... I wasn't always what I am... that developed over time... but now I want to make you like me. I'm going to take away everything you hold dear... starting with that raccoon-fucker." She tries to get out of his grip and tries to kick him in between his legs, but he blocks it with his other and trips her with one leg and slams her onto her back on the snow. "It's nothing personal... I just wanna have some fun... see you at the funereal."

He lets her go and walks away once that's said.

Pacifica scrambles up and garbs her knife. She's prepared to chase him, but he's already gone.

* * *

HAT: Ooooooh, it's gonna get interesting... crap I gotta rewrite the plot... again!

Pacifica: *rolls eyes* If you'd stop messing up my life, you wouldn't have to.

HAT: *opens mouth then closes it an thinks before shrugging shoulders* Valid point.

Pacifica: I know.

HAT: Would you please say it?

Pacifica: Whatever. Review or something.


	26. Chapter 26

HAT: How many times do I have to rewrite this plot?! UUUUGH! Also- as you will probably figure out if you ignore this, chapter twenty-five was replaced with an actual chapter so you're gonna be a little lost if you don't go back and read it... enjoy!

 **Disclaimer: I only own the OCs and plot... Gravity Falls belongs to Alex Hirsch!**

* * *

"Shmeb, go back to the Shack," she orders as she stuffs her knife into her picket and starts running towards the town immediately.

 _Please don't be dead, please don't be dead,_ she thinks the entire time she's running. The thought of McGucket dying is unthinkable. Unfathomable. _Wrong_. Despite knowing that Dan is much faster than her, she still has this irrational thought in the back of her head that she could outrun him and get to McGucket before Dan.

It takes ten minutes- her past record being thirteen- but she makes it to the junkyard and runs through, ignoring the angry raccoons. She goes straight to the shelter and bursts inside and is hit with the warmth of a fire.

"P'cifica?! What's wrong, hun, you aren't supposed ta be over here," McGucket says while walking forward with worried blue eyes. Pacifica's own blue eyes tear up and she throws herself at him while wrapping her arms around his torso and she sobs into his chest with pure and utter relief that he's still alive. He soothingly runs his fingers through her hair and cranes his neck to try and see her face. "What happened? It's okay, it's okay."

Ten to fifteen minutes later and Pacifica's calm enough to talk.

"I-I saw Dan and he said he was gonna kill you," she manages.

He stiffens. "Oh, darlin', ah'm aw'right, but ya can't just run 'round by yerself. There're more things that kin hurt ya than just Dan, sweetheart."

"I'm sorry, it's just-"

"Ah know, ya weren't thinkin'. Just promise me that ya'll be careful and think next time?" (A/N: "Ya'll" is different from "y'all" completely. While "y'all" is "you all" in the south (and north in some places), "ya'll" is "you will" and they're pronounced slightly differently for those that don't know or were confused)

She nods. "I promise... I'm sorry."

He smiles. "It's okay, darlin'."

"Will you come live at the Shack? You know, until after this Dan thing passes?"

He grimaces. "I dunno, yer gonna haveta ask."

She reaches into her bra to grab her phone, but finds that it isn't there. "Oh, no... I think my phone fell when he tripped me."

"That ain't good..."

-With the Rest of the Pines-

"Where's Pacifica?" Stanley asks as he walks in from a long day at work.

"She went out to walk Shmebulock," Dipper answers absentmindedly while stuffing his mouth with popcorn.

"How long ago was that?" Stanley demands.

"Uh..." Both brunettes look up at the clock and their brows furrow. "I dunno."

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Okay..."

"You know how long she takes walking Shmebulock," Dipper says.

Mabel frowns. "I dunno... I think she left after taking to Great Uncle 'Ford."

Stanley walks into the back and opens his brother's door. "'Ford! How long ago did you talk to Pacifica?"

"About... forty-five minutes ago," he answers after glancing at the clock before stiffening and turning to look directly to his brother. "Why?"

"She's not in the house. I've been looking for her to clean up her mess in the gift shop for the last ten minutes and the kids said she went out to walk Shmebulock."

Stanford relaxes a little. "She always walks him for a long time, she'll be back soon."

"Grunkle Stan! Shmebulocks here!" Mabel calls.

Both Stans share a look and run out and see Mabel and Dipper standing in front of Shmebulock... by himself. This causes all four Pines to have a sinking feeling in their gut that Pacifica got hurt or kidnapped or was killed.

"Where's Pacifica?!" Stanley demands angrily.

"Shmebulock!"

Shmebulock goes through the smaller door build within the larger door and runs on all fours out to the edge of the forest and then pauses.

"Kids, you stay here with Soos just in case Pacifica comes back and call her phone and if she doesn't answer, call again," Stanley orders while putting on his gloves. " _Soos! Stay here and let me know if Pacifica comes back!_ "

"Yes, sir!"

"No! We have to go see if Pacifica's okay, too," Dipper shouts.

"She's our friend and we wanna see if she's alright," Mabel adds.

Stanley looks to his twin for advice, not eager to have the kids come with them just in case something is out there- which most like they are.

Stanford glances at his brother. "They'll follow us anyway."

Stanley sighs. "Fine. Hurry up any get ready."

All Mabel has to do is pull on her boots since she's wearing her sweats and sweater already. Dipper- on the other hand- is in shorts and a t-shirt. He runs to the back and runs back out in under a minute wearing sweats over his shorts, one of Mabel's sweaters, a beanie, and a his sister's boots.

Both older men share a look at his thrown together attire, but make no comment on it.

"Let's go," Stanley grunts and walks out while grabbing his 8-ball cane.

"Call Pacifica," Stanford orders as he follows his brother.

Mabel's the first to pull out her phone and calls Pacifica's number, but it goes to voicemail much to everyone's dismay. She tries again as both pairs of twins follow Shmebulock through the snow into the forest to get to the place where he last saw Pacifica.

It doesn't take a mind reading device to know that all four of them are thinking of what could have happened and absolutely all of them end terribly: death by a monster or man could be one of them or looking into the eyes of a gremoblin to see her worst nightmares being another that could leave her in the hospital for days _at least_. Everything that could have happened to her that would end with her demise flash through their minds.

"Hurry up Shmebulock," Stanley snaps as he nudges the gnome with his foot.

"Don't rush him, he's going as fast as he can," Mabel snaps before pulling the ear away from her phone and redialing Pacifica's number.

Stanford doesn't seem better off than his twin when it comes to attitude despite his anger being more contained and less visible- to a degree. Normally he has a soft frown on his face and his eyebrows together by one-fourth of a centimeter at most- his rest face or- rather- normal face- but right now his lips are slightly tighter, shoulders more tense than usual and his eyebrows are a together to the point that they're half a centimeter closer together- not to mention his hair is much wilder than usual. These small differences contribute to the vibe of irritation and worry that emits form him.

Dipper pauses when he hears something. "Wait, guys stop moving."

Everyone freezes- even Shmebulock despite knowing they're near to the place where Pacifica left him- and starts listening. Suddenly it stops and Mabel pulls the phone away from her ear. She shares a look with her brother and they share a nod and Mabel redials the number after a few more seconds and the ringing starts again.

Without hesitation the small search group rushes towards the sound of the phone and Stanford's the first one to get to the source of the ringing with Stanley and the kids close behind and Shmebulock trailing behind.

Stanford picks up the phone and inspects it for a moment before handing it to his twin. "Can't think of anyone else's phone being in these woods."

Stanley immediately goes to her contacts and closes his eyes before sighing. "It's hers."

"But where could she be?" Mabel asks with worry tinting her voice.

Dipper frowns. "That doesn't make sense... what happened?"

"I think I can answer that," he says, having inspected the snow. "It looks like someone older came here and attacked her. This looks like a place of struggle and where she'd land... the other person's footprints disappear after a few feet going towards town while Pacifica's goes straight towards down."

"She has to be at the junkyard!" Dipper shouts.

"Why would she go to the junkyard? She had no reason to visit McGucket today," Stanford says before noticing that the other man in this group has been unusually silent. "What do you think, Stan?"

After a moment Stanley finally speaks. "She's safe- I feel it- and if she's with McGucket now he'll probably bring her back to the Shack and they're either already there or almost there by now by how long it took for us to track her phone and how this isn't a direct route to the junkyard. I say we head back."

"Shmebulock..."

Mabel picks up the gnome. "C'mon, let's go back to the Shack. You did a good job."

"Yeah, little buddy," Dipper adds while scratching him under the chin.

And then the four head back.

* * *

HAT: I decided to change it up a little with the point of view for a change... and since everyone's out trying to get Stanley out of a black hole, I'm left to say this by myse-

Stanford: Don't go into the light! It's not real!

Wendy: Oh, _God,_ you're heavy, Mr. Pines 1!

HAT: *closes door and laughs nervously* Um... review, please... excuse me. *slips out of studio* Oh, no! The Teletubbies are attacking! *door shakes, but doesn't open* WHO LOCKED THIS?! NO! Nooooo!

Director: Um... we're just gonna end it here.

Camera Man: Aren't we going to help them?

Director: Burn the evidence and they won't know we didn't help them.

*cuts off to colors on the screen and a loud, continuous, and high-pitched beep echoes through the room*


	27. Chapter 27

HAT: Sorry this came out late. It's my birthday and I haven't exactly gotten the chance to be on the computer pretty much all day... yeah- on the bright side the newest episode came out on my birthday! Anyway, enjoy this new story! If Alex Hirsch is reading- _thank you_ for the amazing and not on purpose birthday present!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls or it's characters, just the plot.**

* * *

"Dude, where you been? Both Mr. Pines and the twins went out looking for ya," Soos asks as Pacifica and McGucket enter the gift shop.

"McGucket's," she answers as she takes her boots off and walks with them at hand. "It's a long story."

With that said she trudges into the living room and then to the back door and drops her boots off there before going back into the living room and finding McGucket curled on Stanley's recliner. She decides to just get on the couch and warm back up. She doesn't see Shmebulock anywhere so she can figure that they took him to find her.

Guilt settles in her bones for making her family worry so much. She has no idea how long they've been searching for her and she doesn't know what they'll end up doing when they get back, but whatever it is, she knows that she's not ready for it.

The back door opens and closes with the sound of footsteps.

"Shmebulock!"

Pacifica catches the gnome as he flies into her arms hugs him to keep him form falling. "Hey, miss me?"

"Yeah, we did," Stanley says as he walks in with her phone at hand and the other three trailing behind him.

It doesn't take Mabel long to rush over and smother Pacifica in a long hug, but once that's done she can't bring herself to look at the people that spent the last hour looking for her.

She shies into the couch and looks down at the floor with guilt tugging at her gut. "I'm sorry."

Stanley has an unreadable expression as he gently tosses the phone into her lap while sparing a glance towards McGucket. "What happened?"

The blond casts a glance toward McGucket and then looks toward her guardian. "I saw Dan and he threatened McGucket."

Everyone stiffens and share glances before turning to her.

"What happened?" Dipper asks just as Stanford opens his mouth.

"He came out of nowhere and then he told me something about himself," she says, trying to find his exact words. "He said something about how he wasn't always like this and that he was gonna make me like him just for the fun of it... is it okay if McGucket stays here until this Dan thing blows over?"

Stanley rubs the back of his neck and lets out a sigh. "Yeah... Dipper, you're gonna have to sleep on the couch or something."

Dipper looks ready to argue, but he bites his tongue at seeing Pacifica's pleading look. "Okay, fine."

"Thank you," Pacifica says.

"You won't be saying that long," Stanford says curtly. "You're grounded."

Even Stanley seems to be surprised by this with a raised eyebrow and sideways look to his brother. "I dunno about that, after all, she was only reacting to the situation and trying to make sure that Fiddlesticks was okay."

Stanford glares at his brother. "She was reckless and didn't think. No going out, you're stuck in your room during breaks while working at the Shack, no games, no TV, no phone, and no Sammy."

She stares at him in shock at the last two. He knows that the only reason that she's been on her phone so often lately is because she wants t make sure Travis doesn't end up like she did and Sammy is her comfort item- she feels that she'll need him.

"But Uncle-"

"And that's final," he states while taking her phone and walking past her- most likely to take Sammy and her Gamegirl from her room.

She feels a little bit of anger at his unwillingness to listen to her and side with her. She was just doing what she thought was right and that was to get McGucket before Dan got him.

Stanley takes off his fez and runs his hand through his unkempt hair and looks at Pacifica. "Look, he was just worried. Imagine what we were all thinking when Shmebulock came back without you- huh? And when we found your phone in the forest at first... understand?" When she nods he gets up. "I'll try and get him to give you Sammy back."

"Thanks, Papa Stan."

He stands with a grunt and walks deeper into the house after his brother.

Dipper walks over and sits on Pacifica's left side since Mabel is on her right. "You scared us."

"I didn't mean to," she replies earnestly. "I was just worried about McGucket."

"We understand," Mabel assures. "But don't go running off like that next time."

Pacifica smiles slightly. "Okay."

"And if you do, could you choose warmer weather to do it?" Dipper asks with a small smile.

Pacifica playfully shoves him. "Shut up."

"Is that fun I hear?!" Stanford calls.

Immediately Pacifica clamps her mouth shut and leans forward to look at the entrance of the hallway.

Several seconds later Pacifica stands up. "I'll go to my room. See you guys at dinner."

"Don't worry, we'll bust you out," Mabel whispers.

Pacifica resists the urge to roll her eyes and instead nods before walking out of the living room. For a moment she wonders why McGucket's been quiet and turns to find him asleep. She puts the recliner back and then walks up the stairs and goes into the attic to start her grounding.

Several minutes of playing with Shmebulock with the laser pointer there's a knock on the door that lasts about a second and not even a second later she's surprised to see Stanford enter with his hands behind his back. As for why he didn't bother hesitating when it comes to opening the door is because he knows that if the kids are getting dressed, they'll shout for them to hold on before he has the chance and the same goes for his brother.

"Hey, Pep," he murmurs and then holds out Sammy.

She resists the urge to snatch the bear and takes it gently. "Thanks."

He stands there awkwardly for a second before he lets out a longer breath than usual through his nose and sits on the foot of the bed. "Listen, Pacifica, I know that your punishment may seem harsh, but I'm only doing that because I care... and because apparently it's illegal to discipline a child the right way." _Don't ask, he might do it._ "I didn't really listen before, but I was too... _emotional_ to listen to reason... do you know why?"

She shrugs. "Because you value human life?"

He flicks her forehead. "Try again- and really think about it."

She rubs her forehead and looks at him as if to find an answer in the crevices of his face or something.

Why would Stanford- the most levelheaded and _indifferent_ person that she's ever met in life- be _emotional?_ He wasn't phased during any of their misadventures before- like the gnomes, the griffin, and the giant floating baby head (A/N: Remember how I have a lot of time skips? Though if anyone wants to write about those adventures, feel free to, just give credit where credit is due and let me know so I can read)- and she's never really seen him affected by anything. Even after she was attacked by Dan, he was the calmest of the bunch and came up with a plan without seeming fazed aside from throwing himself into research and-

 _Oh..._ The memory of his outburst comes back to mind. "Because you care about me..."

He nods. "That's right. You're family. My niece. I was scared that you had died or worse and to find out that you ran off without even thinking about coming to me and Stan really did something to me... kid, you are just as important to me as Mabel and Dipper and Stan. If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."

The overwhelming urge to hug him makes her lean forward and wrap her arms around his torso as best as she can and her cheek ends up on his chest. He stiffens at first- probably not used to gentle affectionate physical contact unless it's from Mabel.

"I'm sorry for scaring you."

"You'd better be," he grunts as he relaxes and pats her back before clearing his throat and gently disengaging himself from the hug. "That's enough emotional moments for one day... you're not grounded, but you're definitely getting that Gamegirl and your phone taken away for nearly giving a couple of old men heart attacks."

"I can live with that," she says before offering him the laser pointer. "Wanna play with Shmeb?"

He hesitates before shrugging. "I don't see why not."

The next twenty minutes are spent playing with Shmebulock with the laser pointer and laughing when he can't reach it and then discussing what she discovered from today's interaction with him before Mabel comes in and has them put on makeup (Pacifica all but died laughing at seeing Stanford in makeup) and made it a slumber party... Basically fun for being partially grounded.

* * *

HAT: Yay! Everyone's safe and happy... for now.

Dipper: Can't you- y'know- _not_ torture everyone in your stories?

HAT: Then what would be the point of writing?

Mabel: To make people happy?

HAT: Been there, done that. I want to tug at the heart strings!

Dipper: You're merciless.

HAT: Sometimes.

Mabel: Uh-huh.

Dipper & Mabel: Review!

HAT: Group up! *tackles them in a hug* Now, let's go hug Wendy and Soos.

Mabel: Is it me or is she taking the birthday hugs thing too seriously?

Dipper: It's not just you. Let's go make sure she doesn't kill our grunkles by forcing them to hug.

Mabel: Good idea.


	28. Chapter 28

HAT: Thank you all for the "happy birthdays" and the birthday hugs! *glomps everyone back* Now... time for the most terrifying thing to all children and teens... School!

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls, Stan and 'Ford would make up already! *sigh* So I don't, just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

School came too fast for the children. To go from staying up as late as they want to a set schedule... needless to say it hurt.

"C'mon, wake up, Pep," says whichever Stan decided to stir her from her slumber.

Pacifica cracks open one eye- it burns and stings to do so with how little sleep she's gotten- and glares at the figure. "Why?"

"You're gonna be late for school if you don't." She closes her eyes to contemplate how long she has before she _absolutely_ needs to get up and also make the stinging stop. Two seconds and her butt's popped and Pacifica automatically jumps and leans onto one elbow and holds her lightly stinging rear while giving Stanford an incredulous look. "Get. Up."

"I'm up," she grumbles while doing as told and walking to the dresser any grabs her clothes.

"Now wake up Mabel," he orders only to receive a vigorous shake of the head. "Why not?"

"Mabel scares me when I wake her up," Pacifica admits and goes into the closet to change as he goes to wake up his great-niece.

She comes out in her cerulean blue jeans, azure t-shirt with the words "Hey Blue Shirt" on it, and Stanley's old leather jacket to see Stanford trying to get Mabel off of his back as she bites his shoulder. And this is why Pacifica's terrified of Mabel in the mornings: she gets violent.

"Pacifica, help me get her off of me!"

Mabel snarls at Pacifica and she shakes her head. "You're a man, you can handle it... I'm gonna go pack lunch for everyone."

She grabs her backpack and runs down the stairs to get to the kitchen as fast as possible. After several minutes she's got three lunches packed with their names on the paper bags. She puts her lunch in her backpack and sets it near the door. She doesn't want to go to school- there's so much _crap_ that's there that she's- thankfully- been avoiding all Christmas break. She wishes every day could be vacation because she can avoid all the other things that get her in a mood. Dan and all the paranormal stuff is more troublesome than school, but school doesn't do anything to take away from that stress. She has to get good grades and avoid people and- now- watch her cousins.

 _This is gonna suck_ , she thinks as she goes into the bathroom and brushes her teeth beside Dipper.

"What's school here like?" He asks.

She shrugs. "Same as any other school, I guess."

Dipper observes her. "Are you sure it's not bad or anything?"

"It's alright, you guys will probably like it better than I do," she states and then continues brushing her teeth to avoid anymore conversation.

"Kids! Hurry up, it's time for school!" Stanley shouts.

"Coming!" Three voices chorus.

Within the next ten minutes the car has four people in it- Stanford has to get a raccoon out of the gift shop again- and they're on their way to the school. While Mabel is excited and Dipper mildly excited, Pacifica is dreading walking through the doors of the school and going back to being a pariah.

"Have a good day at school, kids. Oh, and call the Shack if you've got track, okay, Pep?" Stanley calls.

"I will," the blond assures and then closes the door once the twins get in their goodbyes.

She leads them to the front office to have the counselors give them their schedules and then looks at each of their schedules. Dipper has Aerospace with Pacifica first period and then they have the same lunch while Mabel is in math and has the same lunch as herself and Dipper- which is a good thing, she supposes.

"We'll show Mabel her class and I'll take you to ours," Pacifica says.

Pacifica shows Mabel where her math class is and then goes to Aerospace.

"Have a nice break, Miss Pines?" Mr. Roberts asks with a warm smile.

"Yes, sir," she replies before nudging her cousin. "This is my cousin, Dipper. He just transferred here."

Mr. Roberts takes the schedule and signs it. "Welcome to Aerospace, Mr. Pines?"

"I thought it sounded pretty cool," he says weakly.

"That's good," the teacher says as he hands the boy back his schedule. "Take a seat anywhere."

Pacifica walks straight to her seat and Dipper ends up sitting behind her. She may trust this boy with her life- as the cliffhanging had shown her- but she doesn't feel comfortable having him- or anyone for that matter- behind her.

Class is long and boring. Sure, they got to fly in the simulators- the best part- and she got to spend time with her cousin but it's just another day at school where everyone but two teachers treat her like trash. Not to mention now she'll have to make an appearance at the lunch room for Dipper and Mabel even though she wants anything, but be in a room full of people that can't stand her.

 _Maybe I can fake getting sick and go home?_ She thinks, but then quickly discards that after remembering how her guardians were when she got sick and thinking about how they'll overdo it _knowing_ that she isn't really sick.

On her way to her fourth period she hears the voice of someone the last person that she wants to hear or see in life other than Dan.

"Hey, _Pacifica_ ," Tiffany sneers.

Jasmine smiles. "Bet you wish winter break were longer- huh?"

"Yeah, so I wouldn't have to see two faces with too much makeup on," she snaps.

They narrow their eyes and Jasmine picks up the collar of Pacifica's leather jacket. "Ew, where'd you get this? The '60s?"

 _Technically,_ Pacifica thinks, but doesn't give her the satisfaction of knowing that. "Get away from me, I don't wanna catch your stupid."

"Haha, use-to-be-rich's got jokes," Tiffany scoffs.

"You know... we're still gonna make those twins' lives miserable, right?"

Pacifica's teeth clench and she narrows her darkening eyes. "I may not be a Northwest, but I can still get things done. If you so much as touch them, consider your families _destroyed_."

She doesn't know if she has that kind of pull- her guardian is a criminal, her uncle is a scientist that has a lot of fighting experience apparently, her... whatever he is to her- father figure- is a mechanic can build the most dangerous devices known to man, and her ex-family's butler and her are on good terms (he's got connections), but that doesn't mean that she knows for sure if they can destroy a couple of rich families with such ease that she claims. She has no doubt that they can, but it could even take weeks.

"I don't believe you," Tiffany says. "Do you, Jazz?"

Jasmine seems to be hesitant to agree with her pale skinned companion because her almond colored eyes observe Pacifica for several seconds. She seems to see that there's something inside of this blond that can ruin multiple things- if not her family. She's wary because she's seen what Pacifica can do- with or without the help of money. Pacifica tries to convince this girl that it's a bad idea to mess with her by putting as much venom into her eyes as possible.

"You're on your own, Tiffany," Jasmine finally says and walks away.

 _It worked?_ Pacifica thinks, astounded, but quickly puts her mask back on as Tiffany whirls back on her after seeing her "friend" walk away.

"Whatever, I'm still gonna ruin your family's life," Tiffany snarls before walking away.

This entire ordeal took only fourth-four seconds, but it might as well have been three minutes and made her late for class. Luckily it doesn't and she gets to her fourth period without a problem.

It's funny.

School goes by both so quickly and so slowly at the same time because before she knows it lunch is here and she has to go to the cafeteria and make a spectacle of herself and sit with her cousins without getting into a fight with someone that wants to pick on her or them.

 _Fuck my life_ , she thinks as she waits at the cafeteria entrance and finds Dipper and Mabel walking with Cotton-Candy and Genevieve. They don't care for Pacifica at all- and she thinks the candy girl is trying to plot Pacifica's death, but she can never be too sure.

"Pacifica!" Mabel calls and runs forward and hugs Pacifica.

"Get offa me," Pacifica quietly grunts- as she usually does.

Dipper is much calmer in his greeting and simply nods and says, "'Sup."

"Hey," Pacifica replies.

"So- uh- Pep-" Dipper starts, but once receiving a glare he shies and chuckles nervously. "Pacifica... where do you normally sit?"

 _In the library._ "I don't care, sit wherever they want to sit," she replies while gesturing to Mabel's friends- whatever their names may be.

They go to sit in the corner of the room but they might as well be in the middle of the room with the way that everyone else stares at them. Pacifica ignores them and eats her food in silence and pays mild attention to any conversations going on around her.

"Want my pudding?" Mabel asks.

Normally Pacifica would accept, but she learned that anything that can stain is a bad idea for lunch so she shakes her head. "Nah."

Mabel frowns. "What's wrong?"

" _Nothing_ , I just don't want pudding right now."

The brunette seems ready to press on, but Dipper- thankfully- intervenes and shakes his head. He knows that Pacifica isn't up for the million-and-one questions that Mabel will want to ask- especially in front of people that hate her- she's still not sure of Mabel's friends.

The rest of lunch is rather awkward and the rest of the day is spent both trying to avoid people and questions from her cousins when she runs into them in the halls or leads them to classes. She had Travis in one class and spent some time with him- they became almost-friends in the duration of his brother's recovery while she was helping him through his emotional turmoil. Despite that small relief by the time school _finally_ ends she's exhausted and wants nothing more than to go home.

She goes to the front steps where she told her cousins to meet her and notices Mabel talking to Candy and Grendy before they have to get on the bus and looks around for Dipper only to find he's not anywhere in sight. With a frown she goes back inside of the school and walks to Dipper's last class- social studies- and doesn't find him inside the classroom. She slowly walks a different route to the front and hears a small whimper and loud laughter.

 _Wonder who that laugh belongs to,_ Pacifica thinks sarcastically as she peeks around the corner and then frowns immediately upon seeing Tiffany with her boyfriend, Chad (ugh, so unoriginal (A/N: Very))- a relatively tall, pudgy, but large boy with white-blond hair and stormy gray eyes- standing over a cowering Dipper whose book bag is lying on the ground and papers are scattered everywhere while he wears a grimace of pain.

Without hesitation Pacifica struts into view and clears her throat loudly, "Ahem!" They turn and look at her, but she doesn't cower like she normally would, but instead struts forward with a fierce glare. "What are you doing with my cousin? It _better be_ helping him get his papers scattered all over the ground."

"Sorry, Pacifica." Chad's tough exterior cracks a little and he moves to help Dipper, but halts at his girlfriend's voice.

"What're you scared for? She can't do anything," Tiffany sneers.

Pacifica stands toe to toe with Tiffany and sneers back, "I can wipe that look off your face in a second flat if I wanted. Not everything I can do is just _financial_ , _Tiff._ " She says the nickname with as much scorn as she can muster. "Now either put up your dukes or get out of here- not you Chad, you help Dipper with his things."

Tiffany glares and Pacifica stares back cooly while on the inside she's hoping she doesn't have to fight Chad to get a point across- she's nowhere near as strong as a guy so her chances of winning are much slimmer than if she were to fight just Tiffany. This lasts for several seconds as Chad helps Dipper pick up his things before Tiffany breaks eye contact and scoffs.

"Whatever, Chad, let's go."

Once the two disappear from sight Pacifica turns to Dipper and looks for any injuries and prodding his torso to see if he has any bruises that he might hide. "Are you okay?"

"I was just shoved into a locker, I'm fine," Dipper assures while moving her fingers away from himself. "Thanks."

"No problem, just go the short way next time, okay?"

"Okay."

Suddenly Pacifica's phone vibrates violently in her pocket- Stanley talked Stanford into letting her have it back after reminding him of the reason they got her the phone in the first place- and she takes it out to check the caller ID. Mabel.

She hits the answer button and puts the phone to her ear. "Hey-"

"Pacifica, where are you and Dipper? We've been sitting here for ten minutes and you didn't respond to any of the texts Mabel sent," Stanley demands.

 _Wow, so he's picking us up today... wonder what's up with Uncle Stan,_ Pacifica thinks as she answers hurriedly, "I was looking for Dipper and I just found him- we're on our way."

"A minute and a half or I'm leaving you two."

"But-"

"Bye."

As soon as he hears him hang up she looks at her clock and then stuffs the phone in her pocket and grabs Dipper's arm and tugs. "We've gotta run- Papa Stan's gonna leave us in one minute."

"Crap!"

The two of them run as fast as they can- or at least Pacifica runs as fast as she can while half-dragging Dipper- to the front of the school and when the car's in sight both of them shout for their guardian to stay there just a little longer so that they won't be left at school even a moment longer. Both of their bodies slam into the car when they near it and Pacifica opens the door and shoves the boy inside before following after him and closing the door after herself when she feels the car start to crawl forward.

"One minute and fifteen seconds... impressive," Stanley grunts. "Buckle up!"

"What took you guys so long?" Mabel asks.

Pacifica glances at Dipper who shanks in shame and shrugs. "I think he got held up by a teacher or something- no big deal, though."

"Oh, okay," the brunette murmurs, still casting a glance toward her brother.

Dipper sends her a grateful look and Pacifica mouths, ' _I got you._ '

After all, he is family.

* * *

HAT: Yes, _just_ family. There's _no_ Dipcifica- sorry Dipcifica fans- or _any_ shipping in this story, actually. No dating!

Soos: Come to think of it, romance isn't all that concentrated on in the series either...

HAT: Moving on from that- we reached triple digits in reviews! Oh my goodness, 100 reviews, 75 favs, and 94 follows. This had gotten so big so fast and it's amazing to see this grow to be something even remotely satisfying to so many people! Thank all of you! *glomps every reader* I love you all and you're all so amazing- don't let anyone tell you differently! If you think no one else appreciates you, know that I do!

Soos: The humble are the ones that make it the farthest on their journey to happiness in the end.

HAT: ... what?

Soos: Imparting a bit of wisdom.

HAT: *shrugs* Okay. Will you say it?

Soos: Review, dudes!


	29. Chapter 29

HAT: Sorry that it didn't come out yesterday- I did say _hopefully_ and I was right to do so since we went to stay the weekend at a house with a nice TV, DVR, and no internet. Basically, that's why none of the stories got updated until today. *hides behind Stan* I'm sorry.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls because if I did: 'Ford would have that couch be a pullout bed and I'd show him sleeping before last night's episode (he was just so adorable!). Anyway... I just own the plot and... I have OCs in this one, right? Yeah, and the OCs.**

* * *

"Got any homework?" Stanford asks as the children enter their home from Stanley's usual spot.

"Yeah," Pacifica groans while the twins pull out paperwork and hand some to Stanley. "They've got loads more than me, I bet."

"Don't remind us," Dipper groans.

Pacifica walks over to Stanford and pulls out her science homework. "Do you mind helping me with my science homework? I didn't really get what the teacher was saying."

 _Like always_ , she thins irritably.

He takes the paper and looks over it before lowering the paper and raising an eyebrow. "What about this is confusing you?"

She jumps and sits on the arm of the chair and leans over to look at her homework. "Well, I get the concept basically, but what I don't get is what we're supposed to do here. I read the instructions five times and it still doesn't make any sense."

 _I don't know why they give us homework on the first day back- at least wait until the second or third day,_ Pacifica thinks grumpily while frowning at the paper.

Stanford sighs. "Okay, let's break this down. Basically what you're doing here is using this formula when it's phrased like... this question here- number four- and the inverse when it's phrased like this question here. The trick is the placement of these two words. Got it?"

"I... think so," she mutters.

 _Why is there math in science anyway?_

He pulls a pencil out of his trench coat's inner pocket and hands it to her. "Do this one and this one real quick so I can see if you can do it."

Pacifica writes the formula in the blank space first and then inputs the numbers. Stanford refuses to give any sign whether she's doing it right or wrong- like always- and just watches her through the problems(A/N: And here's where the writer's block fully kicked in). Only after she's done does he show her what she's done wrong and then sends on her way to do her homework. It takes about thirty minutes to finish all of her homework so she's semi-free to do what she wants- Stanley reground her so she couldn't go out except for taking Shmebulock for walks and going to track and such.

"Pacifica, could you help us with our homework?" Mabel asks.

The blond shrugs. "Sure. What do you need help with?"

"Which one of these should we concentrate on?" Dipper asks, gesturing to all of the paper.

She looks at each of the papers and the due dates and considers the amount of work that has to go into them. "Okay, so these are due first, do this one, this one and this one first because they'll take the most amount of time- go to sparknotes _and_ shmoop for that one and that one. These two you can either do after you're gone with the hard work or you save it for the morning. These two are gonna take some time so if you put an entire half-a-day's energy into them, you can get them all done with no sweat. As for the rest of these, I just got the papers back for those so you can cheat off of me on those- but turn them in bit by bit and don't copy it word for word so it isn't suspicious."

Dipper and Mabel tackle her in a hug while praising their blond cousin.

"Thanks, Pacifica!" Mabel shouts.

"You're the best!" Dipper choruses.

Pacifica smiles and nods. "Yeah, I know." She gets the papers out and then place them on the desk for when they're ready to use them before walking past Schebulock who has doing the pee-pee dance. "Okay, Shmeb, we're going."

She walks to the bathroom and knocks twice before immediately opening the door to let Shmebulock into the bathroom. _Okay, you're turning into both Stans... this_ needs _to stop._

"Finish your homework?" Stanford asks while munching on an apple.

"Uh-huh," she replies while waiting for Shmebulock to knock on the door to let her know that she has to hold him up to the sink to wash his hands. "I even helped Mabel and Dipper with theirs."

"That's good... Shemb in the bathroom?"

"Yep," she replies while checking her fingernails- her cuticles are _horrible_.

"I swear, I had him go only an hour ago!" Stanford groans while rolling his eyes and walking back down the stairs..

Suddenly the small knock comes and Pacifica goes inside and picks up the small creature and holds him up at the sink much like an one would do for a child while he washes his hands. Once that's done he's set down and she walks out to the living room to see if McGucket's there. Upon discovering that he isn't, she knows that he's probably hiding in the exhibit sleeping again- and Stanley had yelled at him about that more than a handful of times.

She really wanted his advice on how to get Tiffany off her back and keep her away from the twins, but since it'll be another hour or so before he comes out of hiding to eat. Sure, she could've asked Stanford, but he would probably make her figure it out herself by giving her a riddle or something and she's not in the mood to decipher his cryptic advice. There's also Soos, who's _really_ good at giving advice, but he's either off chasing raccoons out of the house, fixing something important, or on a date with his girlfriend so she feels it's best not to bother him. Wendy was at home doing homework or something- she's off on weekdays unless there's a holiday- so there goes that option. Stanley? Who knows what he's off doing. And she doesn't want Dipper and Mabel to know what Tiffany threatened so she'll just wait.

"Guess I've got the living room," she says as she sits down on her guardian's recliner.

"Guess you were wrong," Stanley says, picking her up and putting her on the couch to take his recliner back as he undoes his tie and jacket.

"Awww, c'mon, Papa Stan," she complains.

"Do you wanna watch TV at all or do you wanna go back to your room?" Stanley asks with a raised eyebrow.

With a sigh she gets herself comfortable in the seat. "Fine."

"That's what I thought," he grunts before reaching down into the cooler beside his seat and tossing her a Pit-Cola. "Here."

"Thanks," she replies and taps the top and bottom before opening it with the bubbles "boiling" over just a little, but she quickly drinks that up. "Hey, Papa?"

He seems a bit surprised at the drop of his name, but he simply glances at her. "What is it, kid?"

 _What am I gonna say? Should I come up with something else?_ "Um... nothing, never mind."

He frowns and turns his torso towards her slightly. "Alright, Pep, what's _really_ eatin' atcha?" She bites her bottom lip and wonders how long she has until he gives up. He huffs and turns to the TV. "Fine, don't tell me."

 _Is he really giving up? No, he's still looking, that means he's waiting for me to break... should I break? I mean, he does give good advise sometimes... you're thinking about this way too much, you should- but what if-_

"There this girl at school that used to be my friend before you guys took me in," she says- she can't bring herself to say "before I got kicked out by my father" even now, "and she threatened to ruin Mabel and Dipper's lives to get to me and I got my other ex-friend to back off, but this one's still determined. I tried to intimidate her and tell her I could ruin her family- but I don't really think I can without help form you and Uncle Stan- and then I also said I could hurt her- you know, _physically_ and she's _still_ not backing down and I'm wondering what I should do to nip this in the bud before it gets out of hand and one of the twins gets hurt."

He takes a moment or two to think about this and then scratches his chin. "Well, if this girl needs to be taken down a notch or two to get that you aren't messing around... I think we can do that."

She blinks. "W-we can?"

"Of course we can! You think I didn't get connections bwing as old as I am? I know a guy who can... get things done in the financial department. In twenty-four hours, this girl's gonna _wish_ she never crossed us Pines," he says while ruffling her bangs affectionately.

Pacifica smiles at being included in being a Pines because sometimes she feels like she's an outsider intruding on the Pines family and that she doesn't belong there. "Stop, you're messing up my hair."

He laughs. "Oh, yeah, you're _definitely_ picking up on my and 'Ford's habits."

He's right. They _obsess_ over their hair.

"Pfft, whatever. I just didn't want it tangled- I don't care what it looks like," she mutters while crossing her arms.

"Ohh, really?" He asks before grabbing her and pulling her towards him so he can ruffle the hair on her entire scalp. "C'mere!"

She laughs and tries to escape fruitlessly. This is what she's needed- something she's needed her whole life- and she's glad she can get it from the Pines and McGucket: a family. She promises that she'll do everything in her power to keep her family safe and stay with them because she doesn't know what she'd do without them anymore.

* * *

HAT: Sorry it's so short, inspiration was lacking until I thought of an idea so, just a head's up, I'm not patient enough to go through the entire first part of second semester when it comes to school so I'm gonna do a time skip.

Dipper: How'd I know that was gonna happen... hey, is that a picture of my sister holding her pet unicorn?

HAT: What?... I'm rewatching the episode- leave me alone.

Dipper: Uh-huh... how old are you again?

HAT: Just because I'm not twelve doesn't mean I can't watch a kid's show without pride! I mean, this show turned into something more for teenagers and adults _anyway!_

Dipper: Kid's show is still it's category.

HAT: ... just say the thing and send your sister in for the next story I'm updating.

Dipper: Review everyone!


	30. Chapter 30

HAT: Yay! Inspiration! Now onto this thing.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls because if I did: 'Ford would have that couch be a pullout bed and I'd show him sleeping before last night's episode (he was just so adorable!). Anyway... I just own the plot and... I have OCs in this one, right? Yeah, and the OCs.**

* * *

(A/N: Major time skip because I have no patience and there's a _whole_ lot more story to this left than you think there is)

True to his word, Tiffany's family experienced major financial issues and the minute she found out Pacifica had a smug smirk on her face when the girl turned to look at her. After that there were no problems from her. School went about as normal as the previous semester, but this time she has Dipper and Mabel there with her- a huge relief that she hadn't known she'd need- and now Grenda and Candy- she _finally_ learned their names- don't seem to hate her- (Candy doesn't seem to want to murder Pacifica in her sleep anymore, at least).

It seemed to take forever, but the one thing every student's been looking forward to since winter break ended rolled around and it's two words.

Spring. Break.

That Friday Pacifica and the twins had never ran out to the car so fast in their lives from such a mundane thing, but they did and were burning rubber as soon as they entered the car- Stanley knew that they wanted to get as far away from the school as possible, as quickly as possible and obliged wholeheartedly.

"Maybe we can go monster hunting this week!' Dipper says excitedly.

"Ugh, no thank you," Pacifica scoffs.

"What's so bad about monster hunting?' Mabel demands.

Pacifica raises an eyebrow. "Really? How many times have we almost died from monsters hunting _us?_ I don't want to go hunting something that's gonna turn around and hunt me, too."

"Smart kid," Stanley praises.

The rest of the car ride is pretty uneventful. The three children in the back seat chatter about how grateful they are to have an entire week to themselves away from school and not have to deal with homework and crappy teachers.

Just as they pull up Stanford is walking out of the door with a piece of paper in his hand and Shmebulock on a leash. "Good afternoon."

"Hey, Great Uncle 'Ford/Uncle Stan," the children reply.

Pacifica- ever since the twins have come- has almost said "Uncle 'Ford" at least a dozen times. She love the Pines, but she doesn't want to turn into all of them.

"Pep, come with me," Stanford orders and doesn't stop walking towards the woods.

"Um.. okaaay... could you guys take my bag in for me?"

"Sure thing," Dipper answers, taking the bag from his cousin. "Have fun."

"Uh-huh," she grunts- _ugh!_ \- while jogging to catch up with her uncle. "What're we doing?"

"Lessons," he grunts.

"Ugh, can we not and say we d-" Pacifica immediately shuts up after he looks at her and raises an eyebrow. Still rather indifferent, but this time his face leans more towards the "are you really gonna make that mistake" look. "So-ho-ho... let's get to those field lessons."

He grunts and the hands the leash to Pacifica. "There's a plant that has alluded me for several months, but I think I found it again. It looks very similar to cattails, but it's something that some of the gnomes call dogtails- don't ask, I'm not sure of it myself. I've yet to figure out what it does and I want you to come with me as a witness so that the others back home won't freak out if something happens."

Pacifica makes a face. "And you have no problem scarring me for life if you die?"

He stills for a split second- so minutely that if she weren't paying close attention she'd have missed it- and then puts a hand on her head. "You can handle it better than they can. You're a tough one, kid."

She swells with pride at the fact that Stanford has so much confidence in her. He doesn't know how much this means to her what with him being _indifferent_ and all. They walk for about thirty minutes before he pauses and kneels down to look at the ground.

"What is it?" Pacifica asks while gently tugging Shmebulock closer to herself and away from the thorns nearby.

"This looks like the right type of soil so we should be close," he replies.

Before she can reply Shmebulock drags Pacifica in the general direction that they were going, but a little to the left. "Whoa! Shmeb, what're you doing?!"

A few more yards and he abruptly stops and she tumbles over him in attempt to not crush him and lands in a small clearing filled with what looks like cattails. She sits up and glares at her pet gnome, but when she tries to talk her throat closes up and she notices that he's getting... bigger. She blinks and then soon finds herself a bit smaller than the plants she collapsed in.

"Pacifica!" Stanford calls, clambering through the forest loudly.

"I'm here!" She calls, but that's not what comes out.

 _A... meow?_ She thinks, but doesn't have time to ponder because she has to scramble out of the way of a massive boot coming towards her.

"Pacifica, where are you?" He looks down and notices her clothes there and bends down to pick them up.

What she sees next explains what happened to her. The second he makes skin contact with the plant his ears become longer and move to the top of his head while fur grows all over his body all while he slowly shrinks. Soon he's a brown cat with a lot of silver on his muzzle.

"Uncle Stan!" Pacifica calls, bounding over and causing him to glance at her in surprise.

"Pacifica?"

"Who else?" She snaps and stands in front of him and notices confusion in his eyes. "What?"

"I thought you were blond," he replies.

"Huh?" She looks down at her paws and finds that they're brown. "Oh..."

He leans forward a little. "Well?"

"I'm not actually blond," she replies with a shrug- though it's difficult to accomplish this. "I've been sneaking blond hair dye in the shopping cart every time I run low."

He takes a few moments to learn how to sit on his haunches and then tilts his head an an oddly adorable manner- how could it not be, he's a cat!- and asks, "Why do you keep dying your hair?"

 _Why_ do _I keep dying my hair?_ She wonders and then soon comes up with an answer. "Everyone knows me as blond- why change that?"

"I don't think that's why."

She frowns as best as she can as a cat. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He stays quiet for a few moments before answering slowly. "I believe it's because you were made to when you were younger."

She winces at that because she knows it's true.

 _"Pacifica, what have I told you about letting your roots get brown? Go dye your hair."_

 _"You're prettier as a blond."_

 _"Go dye your hair. Now."_

She'd long gotten into the habit of dying her hair near constantly. "I guess..."

"Are you going to stop dying your hair?"

She doesn't hate her blond hair, but she hates the fact that she was trained to keep her hair blond. "We'll see."

"For now, let's get back to the Shack and see if they can figure out how to turn us back," Stanford grunts, standing up and climbing out of the clothes.

Shmebulock petys Pacifica. "Shmebulock!"

"Could you lead us to the Shack?" Stanford asks.

Shmebulock nods and turns to walk back to the building they reside in.

 _A cat... I'm a cat..._ Pacifica thinks incredulously. _I knew nothing good came from the paranormal!_

* * *

HAT: Yes, I decided to turn them into cats and make Pacifica blond.

Dipper: Why?

HAT: Because of when you said "probably fake blond hair" and it got stuck in my head. At first I figured that it might've been because one of her grandparents were blond, but then I got to thinking and... taxa!

Dipper: You're strange.

HAT: Yes, I know, now hurry up, I've gotta leave soon.

Dipper: Review!

HAT: Please!


	31. Chapter 31

HAT: We hit triple digits in followers! 101! WOO-HOO! *does happy dance* Enjoy, people!

 **Disclaimer: I would say, "would I be writing fanfiction if I owned Gravity Falls?" but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Alex Hirsch secretly write fanfiction about his own show. So, I, HowAboutThat, do not own Gravity Falls or it's characters... just this plot and the OCs.**

* * *

It takes roughly thirty minutes to get used to moving in their new cat bodies, but they manage and end up in front of the house with the dilemma of having to get in. Pacifica looks for an open window or something- there's gotta be _something_. Sadly she can find nothing no matter how many times they circle the house.

"Wait, there!" Stanford says, looking up at the roof.

"How're we supposed to get up there?" She asks, recalling the secret roof entrance/exit that Wendy often goes to goof off.

He does something akin to a smirk. "We're _cats_ , Pep. We can climb anything."

She shrinks away with her ears flattening against her head and looks at how far they'd have to climb. "I dunno."

He sighs and rolls his eyes. "Figures I'd have to do this."

"Wait, do wha-" Pacifica lets out a yelp of surprise when he uses his mouth to pick her up by the scruff. Her body instinctively curls into a tighter ball and her tail comes closer to her body, but she's sure that this is a cat thing. "Hey! Put me down!"

"Deal with it," he mutters through a mouthful of scruff and pads over to the crates.

He bunches up his muscles and then leaps up onto the crates and then bounds up the rest with ease.

"Hey!"

Stanford freezes and then turns to see a dark brown tom with his muzzle completely silver and puts Pacifica down between his paws where she sits on her haunches to watch the ordeal. "Really, Stanley?! You followed us?!"

"I got worried, okay?! Pep didn't answer her phone," Stanley snaps.

"You didn't call me, I would've felt my phone vibrate," Pacifica replies.

"I called you ten minutes ago," he deadpans with a flat look on his face.

Stanford sighs and his ears flatten with mild annoyance. "Okay, okay... we've just gotta... get back to normal... Somehow."

Stanley's eyes widen. "You mean you don't know how to change back?!"

Pacifica's sapphire eyes roll in annoyance and she darts up the last crate. "Doesn't matter whether he does or not- it's not like Dipper and Mabel can understand us."

Stanley mutters something under his breath and then climbs up after his brother and adoptive daughter. "Alright, alright. Let's go. C'mon, kid- or should I say _kit_."

"I'm not that small!" She snaps only to be picked up by Stanford again.

"Shush up, _kit_ ," he says and she can _hear_ his smirk even around a mouthful of her fur.

Instead of arguing she allows herself to be carried all the way up to the roof. When she's finally put down she swipes at her uncle halfheartedly and then peers down the latter.

"That's a long way down..."

Stanford nods. "Yes... I'll go down first- Stan, you carry Pep down."

After receiving a nod Stanford carefully makes his way down the latter and once he's down Pacifica gulps at how risky it looks. She hates being carried like a kit already, but to be carried down something so... _vertical_ is very... alarming.

"Here we go," Stanley grunts and picks her up by the scruff and goes down the latter slowly- which she is grateful for.

When he finally sets her down he spits out brown fur. "Ugh, hair..."

"It's not my fault," she retorts and pads further away to see what's going on. "It's not that busy today."

"Yeah, which is why I had so much free time to look for you two," Stanley grunts and pads over next to her and nudges her towards the living room. "C'mon, don't want to get trampled."

Stanford's tail flicks in annoyance. "We can't open the door..."

Stanley chuckles. "Yeah, but there's always a way. Besides, the kids are in the living room."

That is very convenient since Mabel absolutely _adores_ animals. Pacifica runs over to the door and shouts "hey, Mabel" at the top of her lungs. Both Stans share a look before shrugging and following her lead. Several seconds later Mabel opens the door and squeals in delight. All three flatten their ears and wince at the high pitch, but are relatively happy that they got answered.

"Dipper, there are three cats and they're adorable!" Mabel gasps and looks down at them before pointing to Pacifica, Stanley, and Stanford in order while saying, "You're the baby, you're the dad, and you're the mom!"

"Hey!" Stanford shouts- or rather, hisses- while the other two snicker at his expense until he sends them a glare. They immediately put on their poker faces and share a look before laughing again. Stanford rolls his eyes. "You two are hopeless."

"But you love us anyway... _mommy_ ," she says before leaping behind a guffawing Stanley while laughing herself.

"Shut up, you two! Just because I'm smaller out of me and Stan doesn't mean anything!"

"What? Trying to compensate for something?" Stanley asks with a smirk.

"Don't he do most of the "mom" stuff anyway, Papa?" Pacifica asks her adoptive father.

"Come to think of it, he _does_ ," Stanley says and they go back to laughing all over again.

Stanford's ears flatten and he glares at them both. "I can't stand either of you. Right now we need to focus on getting them to figure out how to turn us back."

"And how're we supposed to do that, poindexter? They can't understand us."

Mabel grins. "Awww, they're playing!"

 _More like Uncle Stan was attacking us for verbally assaulting his manhood, but that works too,_ Pacifica thinks while walking forward and rubbing against the girl's knees and turning towards the entrance where Shmebulock is waiting- poor gnome probably thinks he's been forgotten about.

"Don't worry, Shmeb! I'll get them to let you in!"

"Oh, wait, baby! You're not supposed to go out there!" Mabel cries, following Pacifica to the door and then pausing when she hears a knock on the door. She opens the door and looks down at Shmebulock with wide eyes. "Shmeb? Where's Pacifica and Great Uncle 'Ford and Grunkle Stan?"

Shmebulock points to Pacifica and then the two cats that followed after Mabel. "Shmebulock."

Mabel blinks and looks down at Pacifica. "Pacifica?"

Said girl nods. "Yeah, took you long enough to figure out."

"Dipper!" she shouts and runs back into the living room.

Dipper looks up from the second journal and focuses on his sister. "What is it?"

"Pacifica and our grunkles were turned into cats!"

Dipper looks at the cat in her arms and then at the two cats sitting beside each other. "I knew she dyed her hair."

"Shut up!" Pacifica hisses and then wiggles out of Mabel's arms to the ground beside Stanley.

"It's just a fact," Stanley grunts.

"How'd _you_ now I was a brunette?" Pacifica demands.

He scoffs. "Anyone old enough and smart enough to remember would know. You didn't have your hair dyed until you were four or five."

She flattens her ears bashfully and then notices the twins running to the door. She moves to run after them when both Stans stand in her way.

"What's the big deal?"

"You're too small. You'll never keep up," Stanford grunts before turning and running after the twins. "Stay here!"

Pacifica groans. "This is gonna be so boring!"

Stanley rolls his eyes. "Tell me about it... wait... neither of them told anyone in the Shack that we were turned into cats."

Pacifica's ears perk at that and she really considers it for a moment before remembering McGucket. "Crap..."

"What?"

"McGucket," she replies.

His ears prick immediately to listen for the only human man left in the house. "Crap."

"You don't think he'd..."

"Definitely will."

"We're screwed," the two of them say in unison.

* * *

HAT: Yay! We're going to have multiple chapters of three of our Pines being turned into cats... or in Pacifica's case, a kit.

Mabel: Shouldn't Dipper have been turned into a cat? I mean, he sneezes like a kitten anyway.

HAT: *evil smile* Now theeere's an idea... or two...

Mabel: Whaaat're you planning?

HAT: Nothing, kit.

Mabel: *frowns in confusion* Kit?

HAT: I meant "kid," it was a typo.

Mabel: You can't make verbal typos!

HAT: ... NON-SPECIFIC EXCUSE! *runs out of studio*

Stan: *from outside* Hey! That's my line!

Mabel: Review everyone! *runs after HAT*


	32. Chapter 32

HAT: I almost want no one else to review with the current number of reviews (123)... almost. Review everyone!

 **Disclaimer: I only own the plot and OCs, Gravity Falls belongs to Alex Hirsch and Disney.**

* * *

"What do we do?" Pacifica asks, shrinking into her guardian while her sapphire eyes dart this way and that to see if McGucket is nearby.

Stanley lowers his head and licks the top of her head- most likely out of instinct- in a way she finds oddly comforting. "Calm down, kid, we're alright. Just so long as they get back within the next half hour, everything will be fine."

McGucket- while in a place where he can get food easily and doesn't eat as much possum (and raccoon if he's desperate)- still will attack any "trespasser" no matter what the animal if given the chance. He even attacked a stray dog until the kids got to him so now he mostly just chases them off "the territory." Cats happen to be one of the more frequent ones aside form raccoons and possum. Quite frankly, she doesn't want to get kicked out at all.

"Where're we gonna hide until they get back?" Pacifica asks.

He frowns and looks around as if this will give him an answer. "Not suuuure... He could be _anywhere_." Pacifica hears a bang and- thinking it's McGucket- dives between Stanley's legs to crouch underneath him. Stanley pads over to the open door and she moves to a side of the room so it's not within view. "Don't worry, kid, it's just Soos."

She's surprised how terrifying being small is. What if Soos steps on her and she dies? Has anyone considered that? "Oh? O-okay."

He frowns and pads over to her. "You're really scared aren't you?"

"I'm not used to being smaller than a shoe- even _Dipper_ can accidentally kill me like this!" She snaps.

He presses his side against hers comfortingly- a cat version of a hug?- and says, "Don't worry, 'Ford and I won't let anything happen to you."

"You know what he does to cats! He's convinced they're _evil_ , Papa Stan!" She hisses with her hackles rising. "He literally punted one _through_ a window after it tried to steal his food."

He rolls his eyes. "It's okay, everything's gonna be fine, okay? Besides, you gorget that we've got teeth and claws- we're gonna be fine. Promise!"

She frowns and shakes her head. "Well, I'm gonna find someplace to hide."

"C'mere," Stanley grumbles, picking her up by the scruff and padding though the kitchen until he finds a place that he's confident he can jump.

 _Why do they keep carrying me like this? It's not like I can't jump high,_ she thinks with a frown.

He uses his paw to open a cabinet and stretches his body so that his paws are resting on the corner while he places the girl-turned-kit inside.

"What're you doing?"

"I'll come back and get you when I know where Fiddlesticks' at- kay? Don't leave here- you'll probably break your neck or something," he grumbles while closing the cabinet.

Pacifica grumbles under her breath about how just because she's nervous being stepped on and killed size doesn't mean that she's useless as a cat. "Heck, I can probably jump on the counter no problem."

Not only is her ability something on her mind, but how _terrible_ a hiding spot this is. She's where the food is- canned or otherwise- and McGucket comes in here _all of the time_ so to be hidden here is the worst thing possible. She needs to find a better hiding spot.

She pokes her nose out of the cabinet and sniffs carefully, but when she doesn't smell anything aside from the fading scents of everyone that's been here- including herself. She wrinkles her nose at the smell of cheap hair dye and wonders what damage it's been doing to her hair. Perhaps not dying it anymore will be an improvement?

 _Concentrate, Pe-Pacifica,_ she thinks and looks down at the counter while mentally checking her new body's abilities. She's _confident_ she can make it with no problem and without help of the other people-turned-cats so she bunches up her muscles and aims for the spot just below her. She leaps and hands on her front paws heavily and slides a little, but doesn't fall off of the counter- thankfully.

 _Ha!_ She thinks and then jumps down to the floor. _Now, let's find a better hiding spot._

"Whatcha doin' here, lil kitty," a menacing country voice asks, making her fur stand on end.

 _No, nonononononono,_ when _did he get in here?!_ Pacifica thinks while turning to see the old man with a deranged smile on his face.

Immediately she breaks into a run into the living room and dives under the couch. " _Papa! Help!_ "

The couch is lifted and she darts towards the stairs, but being a kitten she can't climb them as fast as her chaser and ends up being picked up by her scruff.

"You ain't got no right bein' in here," McGucket says while walking towards the nearest window back in the kitchen.

" _Papa!_ " She shouts as she's thrown.

Before she can even make it over the sink she's tackled and midair. They tumble onto the counter and without a word Stanley picks her up by the scruff and takes off running into the living room and into the museum. Stan squeezes between a few boxes and then sets her down. While he peeks around the corner Pacifica internally promises to save every cat she can from McGucket because he's more terrifying as a cat than she ever saw him as while a person.

"I _told_ you not to move," Stanley growls quietly while turning to her. "Why did you move?"

"I figured he'd find me there if he got hungry and that if I move I'll be safer," she admits.

"I hid you there because McGucket's too short to see you if you're at the very back," Stanley explains before sighing and lying down next to her. "We might as well get comfy, the others won't be back for a while."

Pacifica curls into his side and puts her head on her paws. She feels a little guilty for having put them both in danger by getting out of the cabinet, but she's more worried about whether or not the twins will find a cure. They only have a week before she has to be in school and they don't have an entire summer to see if it wears off. People will ask questions if she and her guardian suddenly disappeared and was never heard of again- though they probably wouldn't care if she had disappeared...

"Papa?"

His ears perk and swivel toward her, while he glances in her direction. "Hm?"

"What if we're like this forever?"

He licks the top of her head comfortingly. "Don't worry, Pep, we're gonna be back to human no time."

* * *

HAT: This dissolved into nothingness...

Travis: Um... why'm I here?

HAT: Because I asked. You've gotta do the thing.

Travis: *pouts* I thought that was for the original Gravity Falls characters...

HAT: *gapes* Are... are you _jealous_ I give all my attention to them?

Travis: You _made_ me and you don't put me in anything, really.

HAT: *glomps him* Oh, my sweet little Travy-

Travis: Don't call me that.

HAT: I promise to use you more often!

Travis: *gets hopeful look* ... promise?

HAT: Pfffft! Nope!

Travis: *sighs* You're so mean to me.

HAT: Love you, Travy!

Travis: Review. *walks out*


	33. Chapter 33

HAT: Woohoo! So many favs, follows, and reviews! Y-you... you _can_ tolerate me! *hugs everyone* It makes me wanna sing "A Lovely Day" and so I shall look it up and listen to it while you read. ENJOY!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls or its characters, just this plot (which will reemerge... eventually) and the OCs. Onward, Aoshima!**

* * *

After about twenty minutes the two of them doze off and are awoken by movement. Immediately Stanley gets up and crouches defensively over his kit with his teeth bared, claws out, and hackles raised. She feels her claws slide out while she peeks from under her guardian to see what danger awaits them. A shadow creeps over them and Stanley bunches up his muscles to pounce when a pair of cat ears pick and a silver muzzle is stuck through the crack.

"Stanford!" Stanley sighs in relief.

"It's just you, Uncle Stan," Pacifica sighs in relief.

Stanford frowns. "What're you two doing here?"

"Hiding from McGucket," Pacifica answers.

"Oh, yeah, he did throw a cat off from the roof one time didn't he?" Stanford mutters in thought.

The brown kit frowns. "When did this happen?"

"You were at school," Stanford assures.

Stanley scowls. "I had to catch the thing and it clawed me up- it as so scared."

The smaller tom nods. "Yes, it was."

"I take it you _didn't_ find a cure?" Pacifica asks, noting her uncle still being a cat.

He sighs. "We had to talk to some of the gnomes to learn that it actually wears off after a while. They say the most it lasts is a week."

"You mean I'm gonna be a cat for the entire break?!" Pacifica yowls, running from between her guardian's front paws.

"Probably," the leander tom shrugs.

She wishes dearly to be able to rub her temples because her head is pounding right about now. "Okay... okay... _fine_ , we're cats for a week... what do we do for _food?_ "

Stanley shrugs. "I guess we hunt."

"Wait, wait, wait wait... you mean... like mice? And we eat them? No! I'm not doing it!"

"If you get hungry enough, you will," Stanford points out.

 _I have to change back before I get hungry, I absolutely have to,_ Pacifica thinks.

"Did the kids tell ol' Fiddlesticks that we were all cats?"

"They're doing that now," Stanford replies.

"I guess it's safe to come out now," Stanley grunts and nudges her side with his nose. "C'mon."

"Uncle Stan, why're they called dogtails when they turn people into cats?" Pacifica asks as they pad towards the living room.

"Heck if I know," he scoffs.

When they enter the living room Pacifica's taken aback by seeing McGucket in the recliner getting teary eyed. She immediately rushes forward and presses her side against his leg. Before she knows it she's picked up and he's hugging her to his chest.

"I'm sorry, P'cifica, ah didn't know it was you," he murmurs sorrowfully.

"It's not your fault, you didn't know," she reassures, but realizes that he can't understand her so she rubs her face against his cheek and- and she didn't know she could do this- purrs.

He chuckles and scratches her behind the ear. "Thanks, darlin', yer too nice."

"What about me!"

"Give it a rest, it's Pep we're talking about. _You_ didn't get thrown by the looks of it," Stanford replies cooly.

Stanley sighs. "You got a point."

Pacifica decides to ignore them at this point and focus on comforting McGucket who still smells a bit guilty, but she can't hold a grudge against him- he naturally hates cats. Soon enough she's resting on his chest... or rather resting on the beard that rests on his chest while he gently pets her.

"Pacifica seems so... calm... are you really _our_ Pacifica?" Dipper asks.

Pacifica hisses, "Shut up, Dipper!"

Mabel giggles. "Yep, that's our Pacifica, alright!"

Pacifica rolls her eyes and gets comfortable again. After who knows how long she's picked up by her scruff and carried to the couch where she's set down next to a warm body and she pushes herself into the body until she's curled comfortable and then drifts off once again.

...

Pacifica groans quietly when someone nudges her. She tries to bat them away, but they come back and she opens he eyes with a yawn. At first she's confused to see a brown cat with a silver muzzle and large brown eyes, but the previous day's events come rushing back to her mind and she groans and puts her chin on her paws.

"I know, I know," Stanley murmurs sympathetically.

"A few more minutes?" She tiredly begs.

"No can do, kiddo," he replies and nudges her flank. "Get up!"

"Whhhhyyyyy?" Pacifica demands.

"Because if you don't, I'll go upstairs and claw up Sammy beyond recognition," Stanford replies, making her get up. "Good, now we can go eat."

Pacifica trails after him. "What're we gonna eat?"

"Mice," Stanford replies.

* * *

HAT: Is it sad that when I read in reviews "I finally cracked" I'm all like *rubs hands together and laughs maniacally* "Yeeeesss! It's working! *lifts up hands with fingers curled in "it's alive!" pose* It's working!" or something like that...

Stanford: Yes.

HAT: No one asked you, 'Ford!

Stanford: *raises eyebrow* HAT... I say this with as much professionalism as possible... you need help.

HAT: ... and your point iiiiiiiiiissssss...?

Stanford: *face palms* N-never mind... J-just... review everyone. *walks out*

HAT: *follows him* Fooordsyyyyyyy!

Stanford: And for the love of- *frustrated noise* Stop calling me that!

HAT: *snickers* Nope!


	34. Chapter 34

HAT: It was so friggin' painful to write this chapter- writer's block slayed me and the only thing I could do was cut the Kitty Arc short because inspiration just... it just didn't like, I guess. Anyway, enjoy! (I promise, the next chapter will be better)

 **Disclaimer: Other than the OCs (good and bad) and the plot... I don't own anything.**

* * *

"What?!" Pacifica yowls, her fiery blue eyes demanding a different answer from her uncle.

He rolls his eyes. "We're not really eating mice. McGucket made some meat for us- bacon and whatnot."

Immediately her entire being relaxes and then she frowns and bats at him angrily. "You had me scared I was gonna have to eat mice!"

Stanley laughs and pads past the pair. "He sure got you."

"It's not funny!"

Stanford smirks. "I thought it was funny."

She growls quietly under her breath and trails after the other toms darkly. Her bad mood doesn't last as long as she thought because as soon as the meat smell hits her, the bad mood is diminished and she rushes to rub against McGucket's legs in order to get his attention.

"Naow, P'cifica, be patient," he scolds lightly while bending down and petting her gently on the head.

"Aww, c'mon! One piece of bacon!" She mewls.

"Ah, ah, ah, yer actin' spoiled," he reprimands.

With a small groan she goes into the living room and jumps up to sit on the couch beside Dipper to see what he's doing. He seems to have his attention completely absorbed in a mystery novel- like always. She jumps onto the back of the couch and then stretches herself down so that her front paws are resting on his shoulder and she bends her legs when he jumps. She pays him no mind and looks at the page he's reading to get an idea of what's going on.

"Oh, hey, Pacifica," he replies and reaches up to scratch her mind the ear.

"What're you reading?" She asks, eyes trained on the book in his hands.

He looks at her and realizes that she's more interested in the book. "Oh, it's called _Shift_ by Jennifer Bradbury (A/N: Haven't read it, but I wanna read it because it sounds interesting). It's about this guy that goes cycling with his friend and they get in a fight, guy goes home, and his friend goes missing so the police thinks it's him."

It doesn't really catch Pacifica's interest and she jumps onto his stomach and curls up so that she's in a small ball on his stomach. "That sounds boring!"

He chuckles in amusement. "Well, I'm sorry my taste in books isn't the same as yours.""

Pacifica rolls her eyes and lays her head on her paws while thinking, _What can I do as a cat? It's so boring..._

"Stop, Stanley!" Stanford shouts while running away from his larger brother who's batting at his tail.

"C'mon! What else am I supposed to do?" Stanley demands.

 _Well, there's that,_ Pacifica thinks while watching in amusement.

Dipper shakes his head. "It's so weird having you three as cats around here."

"It's even weirder for us," Pacifica replies and then stands up in his chest and sniffs his face. "You smell funny..."

"He's tired," Stanley replies before he's tackled by his brother. He uses his hind legs to throw his brother off of himself and then rolls onto his stomach to look at Pacifica. "He has trouble sleeping sometimes- especially when he gets a new book."

When Stanley pounces on his own brother Pacifica can't help, but giggle. "You two look silly doing that."

Before either could retort Mabel runs into the room with her arms full of... sweaters? Pacifica ducks into Dipper's vest and waits it out- _hopefully_ those sweaters aren't for her and the Stans while they're cats, but if they are, she wants to be hidden to escape that fate.

"W-what're you doin' kid?" Stanley demands as she walks toward him.

"C'mere, Grunkle Stan," she says sweetly.

Before the largest cat in the house has a chance to flee he's captured by Mabel ad a red sweater's put on him. He sulks in her arms and grumbles something along the lines of having too much fur to have something so hot on. Stanford attempts to escape, but- alas- he's put in a maroon sweater and he ends up sitting next to his brother in a slightly darker sweater.

"I am not enjoying this," Stanford says plainly.

"Dipper, have you seen Pacifica?" Mabel asks.

 _Don't you dare tell her I'm here!_ Pacifica thinks to Dipper while her body goes completely still in hopes of not being seen.

Dipper hesitates for a split second before he says, "No, I don't know. Maybe she's hiding upstairs?"

"Thanks, Dipper!" Mabel calls while running up the stairs.

"No fair! I say she should get a sweater, too!" Stanley shouts, outraged.

Pacifica sticks her head out from Dipper's vest and sticks her tongue out at her guardian. "You've just upset because you're not small enough to hide in here without Mabel catching you." She rubs her head gratefully against Dipper's side. "Thanks, Dipper!"

Dipper chuckles and scratches her behind the ear. "You're welcome... but you know that you're prolonging the inevitable, right? Mabel's gonna find you eventually."

"Yeah, I know," Pacifica sighs.

(A/N: Must... fight... writer's block! Must.. get to... good stuff!)

"Y'know... it's weird talking to you guys as cats... it's like, I know you understand and I know who you are, but at the same time I just see you like I see Waddles," Dipper says while scratching Pacifica behind her ear.

Sounds pretty understandable- Pacifica probably would've thought the same thing if just their guardians were turned to cats.

"I can't find Pacifica," Mabel whines while reentering the room and then- as if some force were against her- spots Pacifica. "There you are!"

"Ha! That's what you get!" Stanley laughs, rolling onto his back.

"Picture time!" Mabel says cheerfully while placing Pacifica between the Stans.

"Ugh," all three groan, but comply with her demands- all three of them will probably regret it later.

-Because My Writer's Block Has Gotten So Bad: TIME SKIP!-

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Pacifica's ears prick from her place on Mabel's lap. "Soos?"

Said man-child stumbles down the stairs with wide eyes and heavy breathing.

"Soos!" Mabel and Dipper yell and run over to check on the man- luckily Pacifica hopped off of Mabel's lap.

"Soos, dude, are you okay?" Dipper asks.

"Let... let's just say I saw way more of Mr. Pines than I ever wanted to," Soos says, causing shivers to go down Pacifica's spine.

"Wait... does that mean he's human again?" Mabel asks.

"Yes, very human," Soos replies.

 _Wait, then that means... Crap._ Pacifica thinks while sharing a look with Stanford and she darts for the stairs and then hesitates- she doesn't want to see her guardian naked and if he were wearing a robe- dear Lord, she doesn't want that at this size.

"I gotcha, kit, just keep your eyes closed," Stanford says as he picks her up by the scruff and runs up the stairs.

Pacifica squeezes her eyes shut and she hears Stanley's startled voice and is suddenly glad that Stanford decided to carry her up. He drops her off in front of her room and then flees- probably to his own room for his transformation. She rushes into her room and jumps onto her bed and curls up under the covers.

The transformation is sudden and she goes from being a tiny ball of fur back to being human size. She feels the top of her head with her hands and grins- she's human! With a cheer she closes the door and gets changed into some clothes and then looks at herself in the mirror. Her roots are brunette, but that's something she'll think about later- she's _human!_ She runs down the stairs excitedly.

"I'm human again!" She shouts.

"Welcome back!" Mabel says, nearly tackling her in a hug.

Stanley comes down the stairs in his suit and fezless and pulls out a fifty dollar bill and hands it to Soos. "Sorry 'bout that..."

Needless to say, Soos couldn't look Stanley in the eye for a week.

* * *

HAT: Welp... that ended lamely, but I just couldn't do it anymore- I had to end this Kitty Arc because it became a real struggle. Sadly for you- my readers- this means that you're going to get no relief _any_ time soon in this story. That's right! This was the calm before the storm!

Gompers: Baaa!

HAT: What?! H-how could you say that?!

Gompers: Baa!

HAT: *sighs* You got a point there... Could you say it for me, please?

Gompers: Baa!... Baaaaa!

HAT: I couldn't have said it better myself.


	35. Chapter 35

HAT: I think I'm overcoming my writer's block for this story is disappearing! Enjoy, everyone!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the show or it's characters- just the OCs and the plot.**

* * *

Pacifica sees Dan for the third time this week and he has the same sadistic smile on his face every single time and- as he's been doing- he mouths "McGucket" and then disappears. She's truly worried for McGucket- Dan's been making appearances more frequently and there's a cloud looming overhead and a weight on Pacifica's shoulders. If it weren't for her, McGucket wouldn't be in danger. Maybe she should have stayed with-

 _No. You made the right choice,_ Pacifica thinks fiercely. She couldn't take one more second of being in that mansion with those people. Who knows where'd she be now if she hadn't ran away?

"Pacifica, let's go," Dipper says, snapping her out of her thoughts. "You just got done with track practice, right?"

"Yeah," she replies absentmindedly and follows him out to the car where Stanford's waiting.

"What took you guys so long?" Mabel asks as her brother and cousin climb into the back seat with her.

"Got distracted," Pacifica mutters vaguely as she buckles up.

Mabel looks ready to ask questions, but Dipper shakes his head in a silent way of saying, "She'll tell us when she's ready."

Pacifica decidedly ignores her cousins and contemplates what she's going to do. Dan's become a problem and she _definitely_ doesn't want to deal with him anymore. She's got a few scars to remind her of him and even that's too much of him for her to be comfortable with.

Why her? Why did he decide to pick on her and her family? Because she snapped at him the one time? Because he just got bored? Because he's always held a particular grudge against her? _WHY?!_

"Pacifica, are you okay?" Dipper asks quietly.

She snaps her attention back to him. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine... why?"

"You seemed... a little angry," he replies hesitantly.

Pacifica quickly dismisses that with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing- just people being stupid as usual."

Dipper doesn't seem to believe her, but she can't tell him about how Dan's begun to intimidate her because if she does then he'll try to help and will end up getting hurt because of that. She doesn't want anyone else hurt by him which is why she's gotta keep him and his sister out of the Dan situation entirely. They know the basics and that's all that they need to know as far as she's concerned. The less they know, the better.

 _Expers beastia... what are you?_ Pacifica thinks irritably as she exits the car and enters the house.

"Hey, guys, how was school?" Soos asks as the three enter the door.

"Good," the three students chorus.

Pacifica goes straight to the kitchen to get some food- she's really hungry after track practice so she's definitely gotta get something on her stomach.

It's been a few weeks since after spring break and only a few days after it ended did Dan start to show up again. McGucket's been staying at their place for a long while now and she doesn't think he's that happy about it and wants to go back to the junkyard. The only reason he's still hear is because of her insistence and she feels incredibly guilty, but she can't take a chance and have him out of the protection of the Shack- especially with all the wards and charms in place to keep things like that out that Stanford placed after she'd gotten hurt.

"You should eat something more filling," Stanford says as he enters and he reaches into the fridge and gets himself a Pitt Cola.

She has an entire bag of chips in her hand at the moment, but she doesn't see anything in the fridge that she wants. "I will when I find something."

The man opens the can and takes a slow sip before he asks, "What's bothering you?"

She swallows the chip in her mouth with her mind racing. "What makes you say that?"

"Tense shoulder, small frown, distant look in your eyes... the usual," he responds. "Why are you so defensive?"

"Teenager, hormones, being a girl in general," she defends and raises an eyebrow at him. "Your move."

"181-24," Stanford praises and then pulls out a yogurt and licks the top. "You know, you can talk to us about anything- right? After all, we are family."

 _Family... since when have I started thinking of them like that? How did I get so lucky as to get these people in my life?_ She wonders for a moment before she nods. "Yes, I do... and I will if there's something that I feel I need to talk about, but until then I've really got nothing."

Stanford observes her for several seconds before turning away and walking out of the kitchen. "Alright then, go do your homework."

"Yes, Uncle 'F-Stan," she says and then quickly flees the room.

 _Even the twins' habits are rubbing off on me,_ Pacifica thinks, though she's not upset- not really- just a little caught off guard. She's about that close to calling him "Uncle 'Ford" instead of "Uncle Stan" like she's been doing since before the twins showed up.

She discards all of that and decides to go upstairs and get a little bit of reading done so she can be ahead of the class- she can't stand having to read with the class, it doesn't give her the same thrill as with reading the books on her own. As soon as she settles down in front of the window at the desk she sees someone standing in the distance. She narrows her eyes and looks closer- expecting it to be Dan- but instead she finds that it's Travis.

 _I wonder what's going on,_ Pacifica thinks just before she gets a text form him.

 _Need to talk, I'm outside._

 _~Travis~_

Pacifica goes downstairs and walks out the door and towards the forest where Travis is. As she walks closer she sees that he looks... well, like _crap_. His hair's more messy than usual, his clothes look thrown on, his eyes are red and puffy, and his shoulders look slumped.

"Hey, Travis, what's up," Pacifica asks.

He gulps and takes a few heartbeats to answer, but when he does, her heart sinks at his voice cracking as he says the words, "My brother died today."

Travis' big brother had been in the hospital the ever since the accident and was looking like he was making a full recovery for the past three weeks, but apparently that isn't the case.

Pacifica hugs her friend sympathetically and he rests his forehead on her shoulder while he cries. She has no idea what it feels like to lose a brother, but she does know what it feels like to lose a loved one. She just wants to be there for him like her parents weren't there for her when her grandfather died. Her mother was a little emotional, but both were only interested in the inheritance that they'd get with his death, which really did a number on her.

She can't rightly say that everything's alright because- for him- nothing's okay. He just lost his brother so of course nothing's _okay_. All she can really do is hug him and try to make him feel better that way in all actuality. She can't tell how long they've stood there, but she knows it's a long time before he stops crying.

"I'm sorry," she murmurs as he trembles in her arms.

"I-I don't know... I don't know how to... to stop crying," he murmurs with tears in his voice.

She shrugs. "Just let yourself cry until you can't cry anymore- it helps a ton."

He curses quietly. "I feel so weak... I feel weak for crying so much."

She pulls away, but keeps hold of his shoulders and glares into his eyes. "It's not weak if your emotions are too much- they've gotta get out somehow and tears are the best way... you shouldn't feel weak for crying after something like this."

"Thank you," he murmurs while wiping his eyes. "You really helped."

Pacifica smiles sadly. "You're gonna be alright. I promise."

Travis gives a watery smile. "Yeah... thanks Pacifica." He seems ready to say more, but his phone rings and he makes affirmative noises and then hangs up. "Mom wants me back- I kinda snuck out..."

"Go on, I'll see you at school," she says.

 _Dan did this._

She remembers all too well the smug look on his face when she looked at him- like he was glad that she knew who was responsible for landing her friend's brother in the hospital.

Dan did this to her friend.

And he was going to pay.

* * *

Grenda: Oh, man! Things are getting intense! Oh, yeah! HAT's in a black hole again so we're taking over for now! All of you review!


	36. Chapter 36

HAT: It's so _friggin'_ hard to write through writer's block. That and not having internet for almost a week as well as just life in general doesn't give opportune time for writing. It was a struggle from the beginning of this chapter to the end, but hopefully now I can get whacked with some inspiration and it will stay with me until the end of this story. Anyway, that's enough about me and my writer's block struggle, now is the time for you to sit back (or sit up if you're laying on your stomach), relax (or tense up), and enjoy (or don't, I can't control you... or can I?!- no, I can't).

 **Disclaimer: Let's just say, if I owned Gravity Falls, it would probably be much more emotionally damaging to viewers than it already is... you should be thankful that I don't own it. _However!_ I _do_ own this plot and the OCs within this story... so there's that.**

* * *

It's been a week since that day and Travis has only just gotten back into a routine. Pacifica went a little out of her way to make sure that he was alright- after all, he went through a loss and she understood what that was like. She didn't smother him, but she checked on him often enough for her cousins to take notice.

Right now it's the weekend and she's just got done with boxing with Travis and- after asking Stanley- got permission to walk around town with him for a little while and just hang out. He's not exactly eager to get home and- though she has a fantastic family back home- she's not exactly that eager either at the moment.

She brushes her long bangs out of her face and pats the top of her head self consciously- she's letting her hair go back to it's natural color and she thinks it looks weird that with the brunette and then the blond showing on top. She hasn't cut her hair- only trimmed it- and her hair's gotten ridiculously long- to the point that the bangs on the right side can _almost_ be tucked behind her left side and that she nearly constantly sits on her hair- and her hair was already long in the first place. She needs a haircut soon because it's become a task to wash her hair and brush it.

Travis notices and rolls his eyes. "Stop that- it doesn't look bad."

"But it still looks... weird. I've only had a few centimeters of hair grow and it's so... obvious already," she complains.

"Well, this is the awkward phase, when it gets longer, it'll look really cool," Travis assures.

She shrugs and says, "I think my uncle or McGucket could probably make something to get my hair past the awkward phase- but I wanna get it cut before then." The wind picks up and- being at the perfect angle near a building- her hair whips around and hits her in the face. Travis laughs at her as she tries to get all the hair out of her face and she half-heartedly glares at him as she puss the hair back behind her back. "Shut up."

"Not my fault it's funny," he retorts with a smile.

It was nice to see him smile after seeing him so down in the dumps so- even if it was at her expense- she's a little happy.

Travis freezes and looks at something across the street and Pacifica looks across the street to see what he could have seen. "What?"

"I thought he was in jail... you see that white hair over there?" Travis says, pointing lower to the ground than she expected.

"Since when is Gideon out of jail?" Pacifica questions.

"I dunno- I didn't see any news about it," Travis replies. "Did he escape?"

The two of them look for anyone else that notices the white haired boy walking a on the sidewalk across the street. He's in a pair of white slacks with a short sleeved black button up shirt with his hair in the usual fashion. Pacifica hasn't seen him since around town since summer vacation before he went to jail. No one around him seems to be reacting except herself and Travis. It's... strange, to say the least. Even police seem to be alright with him walking around town.

The two of them run to the closest newspaper stand and look for anything talking about Gideon's release and find that his sentence was only a few months and that he got off early on good behavior. Pacifica- having seen how much of a brat this child is- highly doubts that there wasn't manipulation involved.

"My, my, P'cifica Northwest, what a pleasure to see you," said child's voice says behind her and she jumps and whirls around to look down at the ten- or possibly eleven- year old.

"I'm not a Northwest anymore," Pacifica says- it's been a long time since she's had to say _that_ out loud.

"Oh? Well, then who are you?" Gideon asks, a genuine expression of surprise and curiosity in his eyes.

"Just Pacifica," she replies, getting the feeling that she shouldn't come right out and say it- that wouldn't be a good idea considering his want for revenge on the Pines family (she's not wanting to get kidnapped again anytime soon- the gnomes were enough, thank you). "Aaand now I'm gonna leave you to do whatever it is you do while I hang out with my friend. Bye."

Pacifica grabs Travis' arm and drags him past the younger boy. She never quite liked the kid anyway- he reminded her too much of the Northwests she ran away from- manipulative and backstabbing and uncaring of anyone but himself. He might as well have been their kid instead of her- they'd have been happy with a child that's just like them. He even cares about his looks more than she does- or even tried to when she lived with them.

 _The guy's such a creep,_ she reminds herself, thinking about how he was with Mabel- or at least how she heard he was with Mabel.

They didn't get very far before she hears Gideon call after her, "I like you- you got spunk... remind me a lil' of me."

Pacifica freezes. She reminds him of the selfish, manipulative, backstabbing mirror image of himself that was just like her parents. Just like the girl that she used to try to be. She doesn't know why it makes her feel so angry and guilty to hear that, but all she knows is that she never wants to be like her old self again- not the one that the Northwests wanted out of her.

Her grip on Travis' arm tightens and he grimaces. "Ouch, that hurt," he whispers.

"I'm _nothing_ like you," she hisses and then storms away with Travis in tow.

When they're a good distance away, Travis pulls her to a stop and observes her face for several seconds. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she half-lies easily.

"Are you sure? You seemed pretty... angry back there."

 _That's because I_ was _angry,_ she thinks, but pushes that thought aside and tries to focus on something else- something that won't irritate her and make her wish that she hadn't come to town today. Anything else- just so long as it takes away the negative emotions.

When nothing comes to mind, she forces a smile and says, "I'm fine."

Travis nods slowly and then says, "Okay... wanna grab some hotdogs?"

She's glad that he can't really read her- being a new friend and all- so he can't tell when she's lying. It's one of the few perks of having someone new- not having them know when you feel like crap. It's just a huge relief not to have on a good mask all the time because Stanley, Stanford, McGucket, and even Dipper and Mabel would've seen past her faux grin the instant she tried to make it and might have even tried to pry out of her what was the matter.

"Sure," she replies and walks to the nearest hotdog cart.

A few hours of hanging out in general and Travis nudges her and gestures with his eyes behind her. "Gideon's following us."

She groans. _Great, just what I need. Someone else popping up out of nowhere._

The image of Dan comes to mind and she quickly shoves that away- she'll deal with him when she learns his weakness (she hopes she learns it soon because she's tired of seeing him everywhere she looks, threatening her family).

"What is it with him and stalking girls?" Pacifica mutters.

"Oh, yeah, he did have an obsession with Mabel, didn't he?" Travis says, thinking back to the twins' first summer in Gravity Falls.

"Yep," Pacifica nods. "I really hope that he doesn't have an obsession with me..."

"Want me to beat him up for you?" Travis offers.

Pacifica rolls her eyes and punches her friend's arm. "If he needs to get beat up, _I'll_ do it."

Travis rubs his arm and laughs. "Okay, okay- it's not like you can't handle yourself anyway."

"That's right," Pacifica replies smugly.

Gideon ended up following them all day until they finally lost him in the mall and Pacifica was glad. She walked out of a store called _Lids_ just to make sure she avoids him (who would expect her at a place like that?) and she ended up buying a snapback to tuck her noticeable hair into and uses the bill to hide her face and bought a jersey- _Steelers_ was the team and it had the number 43 (it matched the hat)- to put over her clothes just so that he won't know it's her.

"What's with the get up, kid? I didn't think you were that into the _Pittsburg Steelers_... I didn't know you were into football at all- actually," Stanley says in the front seat as she gets in the back seat.

"I'm not," she replies as she ducks down. "I was wearing this so Gideon wouldn't recognize me and follow me around anymore."

"Ugh, Gideon," Stanley groans as he drives away. "You got the right idea t' avoid him."

"I thought that he had an obsession for Mabel," Pacifica mutters as she takes off her hat.

"I thought he did, too," Stanley replies. "Maybe he's only interested because of stuff he's heard around town?"

The girl makes a face. "And what would he have heard?"

A shrug. "I dunno. Could'ah been anything."

 _Anything,_ Pacifica thinks with a small frown.

"Hey, no pouting," Stanley says when he catches it in the rear view mirror.

"I'm not pouting," Pacifica insists, the pout becoming more prominent.

"Oh, yeah? Then what's that thing that you're doing with your mouth?" Stanley challenges.

Pacifica turns her face and says, "You're not doing that again!"

"Doing what?" he asks "innocently."

"That thing that you do to trick me into smiling."

"But my natural charisma and humor make you smile," he defends.

 _I'm not gonna smile,_ Pacifica thinks stubbornly and crosses her arms over her chest. "No."

" _Won't you smile a while for me, Sara?_ " Stanley sings, purposefully making his voice sound terrible. She bites her lip to try and not smile, but as he keeps singing she can't help, but grin and laugh. "Ha! I knew I could make you laugh! It was only a matter of time."

"Yeah, yeah," Pacifica mutters while still trying to fight her smile.

Not long after, they pull up to the Mystery Shack and she gets out with her new purchases at hand and walks with her guardian into the house. Dipper and Mabel are currently playing a video game against Soos and Stanford is reading his book on the couch.

"Hey, guys," Pacfica calls.

"Hey, Pacifica," the twins and Soos say, not pausing in their attempt to beat each other.

Stanford gives a wave, but doesn't look up..

"Where's McGucket?" Pacifica asks.

"Tinkering in the kitchen," Stanford answers with a grunt. "I think he's building a small suit of armor for Shmebulock or some sh-thing like that."

Stanford had quickly changed his language with a glare from his brother- he didn't look up and see it, but he must have felt it from how hard his twin was glaring. At least Stanley- despite his sailor mouth- _attempted_ to curb his swearing around the kids, Stanford doesn't care (which might be why Pacifica's starting to swear more often now that she thinks about it). When Stanley and McGucket aren't around, Stanford curses without care and often times only gets ridiculed by Mabel, but she's so used to it that she doesn't do it unless he says a particularly bad word.

"Alright," she says and goes into the kitchen and sees McGucket tinkering with a suit that he's built on Shmebulock. "Hi, McGucket."

"Howdy, P'cifica," McGucket says, not looking up from his work.

 _His accent's been getting lighter lately,_ Pacifica notices as she grabs a glass. "What're you working on?"

"Bio-mechanical suit for yer gnome," McGucket replies. "Just in case."

"Just in case of what?" Pacifica questions.

He shrugs. "Dunno, just in case."

She's skeptical, but she doesn't question anymore and simply pours herself a glass of water. "Sounds pretty neat. You should show me how to tinker with stuff."

"Ah just might," he replies. " _If_ y'keep yer grades up."

 _There it is_. The fatherly monitoring of grades that he pulls sometimes. "I will, don't worry."

"How was yer day?"

"I got to hang out with Travis today, but Lil' _Gideon's_ outta jail and now I think he's obsessed with me," Pacifica groans.

"Well, looks like I'm makin' this bio-mechanical suit just in time," he mutters.

Pacifica raises an eyebrow. "Are you pulling that "overprotective male figure" thing?"

"Nooooo," he replies innocently.

"Liar," she grumbles while playfully hitting his shoulder. "He's only eleven."

He opens his mouth to say something, but quickly shuts his mouth and goes back to working on his little project.

The gnome makes a face when his stomach growls and groans, "Shmebulock..."

"How long have you been working on this?"

"'Bout... eight hours."

"Eight hours? Okay, take a break and eat, both of you," she says. He opens his mouth to speak, but she quickly says, "So that I don't worry about both of you."

"Oh, alright," McGucket sighs and puts down his tools.

Pacifica smiles at her success and takes her water back towards her room so that she can finish up on the last bit of homework she's been procrastinating on for the past two days- you'd think she wouldn't procrastinate anymore after all the stress doing so has caused in the past. When she walks in her cousin is playing with Waddles and humming an unknown tune under her breath.

"Hey, did you finish Mr. Ross' assignment?" Pacifica asks.

"Yeah, wanna take a look?" Mabel asks.

"Yes, please," Pacifica says.

Mr. Ross _hates_ her and even if she gets every single question right, he takes five points off (or twenty, depending on his mood). It's also another reason that she's started using pen since he's erased answers here and there to justify the grade (though he'll still cross out answers and change them on multiple choice, but at least with this, he does it less often and can't change her essays and short answers). She'd report him if the other teachers and students wouldn't vouch for his innocence so she just let it go.

Mabel takes the homework out of her backpack and shifts through it before she finds the right assignment and holds it out to the other female. "Here."

"Thanks, Mabel," Pacifica replies and sets it to the side and only referencing it whenever she gets stumped- Mabel's much better in this subject than her.

"No problem." After a while, Pacifica finally gets done and she hands the homework back to Mabel and puts hers away as well. "How was your date with Travis?"

Pacifica makes a face. "Ew, it wasn't a date. We were just hanging out."

"Keep telling yourself that, I smell a match," Mabel says with a smile.

"Whatever... it was a pretty good day until _Gideon_ showed up," Pacifica replies.

Mabel straightens up with her light brown eyes wide. "He's out of jail?!"

"Yeah, apparently just got out," Pacifica answers while taking a long sip to finish off her water. "Followed us around for a while until we lost him in the mall. I had to wear a disguise to get out without him noticing that it was me."

"So we're gonna have to deal with Lil' Gideon again?"

"Looks like it."

"Great," Mabel groans sarcastically.

* * *

HAT: Okay, okay, I know. Technically this is set after the Oddpocolypse, but I started writing this even before _A Tale of Two Stans_ and we all know how that changed this entire story completely. So... yeah, Gideon's still a psycho in this one.

Bud: Now, listen here-

HAT: I don't want to hear it from you, Buddy. You're the reason he became a power-hungry psycho in the first place.

Bud: ... Touché.

HAT: Now, would you please say it?

Bud: Would y'all kindly leave a review?


	37. Chapter 37

HAT: Boy, was it hard to get inspiration for a while, but I think I've got it back... cross your fingers, people, this might be a fluke and inspiration will abandon me again... buuuut hopefully that's not the case this time.

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls... I don't even know anymore. It's ending and my heart's breaking. But I'll heal like I did with Avatar: The Last Airbender back when it ended (eventually)... But, even if I don't own Gravity Falls, I own this plot and the OCs and that counts for something... right? *crickets* Ah, who needs validation? Enjoy, people!**

* * *

Right now, she doesn't know which is more annoying to her. The fact that Gideon keeps stalking her every time she leaves the Shack and goes into town for _anything_ or the fact that McGucket has gotten overprotective and is trying to get her to wear this "harmless bracelet" that will "mildly" shock any person that she touches. There was a long debate about why she should and shouldn't wear it, but- luckily- in the end, she won and now she won't accidentally electrocute everyone she comes into contact with. At this point, she'd have to flip a coin to see which one annoyed her most.

Currently she's got her forehead resting on the kitchen table and she's trying to come up with a way to nip both problems in the bud.

"What's the problem, kid?" Stanley asks as he enters the kitchen.

"Gideon and McGucket," Pacifica replies in a grumble.

"Yeesh, it's been almost a month. You'd think they'd lighten up," he grunts as he takes out a Pitt Cola. "Want one?"

"Yeah," she replies and lifts her head up while rubbing her forehead in attempt to not have it as red as it could be from continuous pressure. "They're stubborn, I guess... Papa Stan, do you know how to get a guy uninterested in a girl?"

"... well, for one she's gotta be taken, for two she's gotta be ugly, and for three she's gotta have the worst personality," Stanley lists off while holding up a finger for each one after putting the Pitt Cola on the table in front of her. "You aren't taken, you aren't ugly, and you don't have a horrible personality. You're gonna have guys crushin' on ya."

"But _Gidieon?_ "

"He's eleven, he'll hop from one girl to the next," he assures.

"How long did he obsess over Mabel?"

"... okay, you've got a point. Sorry I can't help you."

Pacifica opens her Pitt Cola and takes a sip. "It's okay."

"Don't go doing any hair brained schemes, alright?"

"What? Like you don't do them all the time?"

He stares at her for a moment before he grunts. "Touché."

"Don't worry, I won't do anything _too_ over the top," Pacifica assures.

-Two days Later-

"Girls, if you wanna go to the mall with Travis, then you're gonna have to hurry up!" Stanford calls impatiently.

"We're coming!" the girls call from their place upstairs.

At this point, Mabel's finishing her makeover of Pacifica's face and Pacifica's pulling her brunette and blond tipped hair into a ponytail- thankfully it's past that awkward stage now. Once Pacifica's finished up, Mabel nods in satisfaction.

 _I never thought I'd go out looking like this, but... I'm desperate._

The two girls run down the stairs to get to the front door where Stanford is waiting with their shoes on and coats thrown on.

"Finally, you girls were taking for- AH!" Stanford jumps away at the sight of Pacifica and blinks as he focuses on the girl. "What-?!... Pacifica?"

"What do you think?!" Mabel asks while gesturing to Pacifica grandly.

She's got "bags" under her eyes and "acne" all over her face and her hair in a messy bun in a way that makes it look unwashed for a week. Obviously she's pulled out all that wouldn't stick long term to get Gideon to stop wanting to practically stalk her when she goes to town. She's a bit desperate after so long of dealing with him.

Stanford- like always- has to be blunt about everything and he says, "You look terrible."

"Great!" Pacifica grins.

"Hey, have any of you seen my- _holy Moses!_ " Stanley jumps back at the sight of Pacifica. "What did you do to your face?!"

"Mabel did a face project," Pacifica answers nonchalantly. "What're you missing?"

"My eyepatch. I had it this morning," Stanley says while feeling his head and patting his pockets.

Stanford sighs and rolls his eyes- Stanley loses a lot of items. "Have you checked your room? Or perhaps Soos has them?"

" _Yes_ , I checked my room," Stanley snaps with a withering look toward his twin before he sighs. "He has been known to take my stuff... "

"Let's go before he drags us into the search," Pacifica says to the other two.

"Fantastic idea... go, go go," Stanford grunts, nearly shoving the girls out the door at this point when he hears his brother's voice calling for help.

Once they're in the car and driving away, all three let out a breath of relief. "That was close."

"I'll say," Mabel breathes. "I mean, at least it wasn't his dentures this time."

Pacifica shivers at the memory. Dipper ended up finding them end had to wash them and it was _not_ a pretty sight to behold. She promptly shoves the memory away- especially of when she, Mabel, and Dipper were "playing hot potato" in attempt to not clean them.

"Call me about ten minutes before you need to be picked up," Stanford says when they pull up to the mall.

"Yes Uncle 'F-Stan/Grunkle 'Ford!" The girls call before they shut the door.

"I heard that," Mabel says with a big grin as she walks with her cousin to the entrance.

Pacifica makes a face. "Heard what?"

"You almost called him Uncle 'Ford!"

Sapphire eyes roll in exasperation. "I did not."

"Did so! Why do you keep fighting it? You know you're gonna call him Uncle 'Ford eventually," the sweater clad girl insists as she walks backwards in front of her.

A scoff. "Yeah right. Watch where you're going, you're gonna run into a pole or something."

"Pffft! I'm gonna be fi- whoa!"

Mabel- as Pacifica figured she would- bumps into someone and ends up falling over them. What Pacifica hadn't predicted is that it would be a gorgeous guy from their school (one that she would often catch herself (and other girls) staring at for long periods of time) that she hasn't bothered to remember the name of. Basically he looks like the real life version of Aladdin and she wants to sing "Prince Ali" every time she sees him. If she were still a Northwest, she would have been _determined_ to make him her boyfriend to make her image better by any means necessary no matter how much a jerk he actually is. Despite knowing that he's one of the biggest jerks in Gravity Falls (falling behind her birth parents, Dan, and Stan Pines), she still feels self-conscious with all the make-up on her face to make her ooh hideous.

"Oh, my bad. Are you okay?" The guy- whatever his name may be- asks with concern as he helps her up.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine," Mabel assures while she gets up and Pacifica can tell that she's enchanted by his looks. "Sorry I ran into you."

 _Oh, boy..._

"No, it's my bad. I should've moved to the side when tying my show," he says with a stupidly charming grin.

"Thanks..."

"Nico," he says. "And you're Mabel, right?"

"You know my name?"

"Everyone knows the new girl's name," he chuckles.

Pacifica wants to open her mouth as they walk away from her and remind Mabel that they're here to hang out with their friend, but she's too far gone already. She groans in frustration and takes out her phone to text Travis to meet her in the food court, but before she can she hears the last voice that she wants to hear today and it's the sole reason she has on "gross face" as Mabel likes to call it. She runs into the closest store to her- Dillard's- and thanks God that she walked into the one with the escalator. By the looks of it, Gideon hasn't spotted her, but she's not taking that chance and goes to the second floor which happens to be the section filled with bras and panties- the second safest place aside from Victoria's Secret.

Pacifica hides in a circular rack filled with lingerie to cover her and texts Travis because _obviously_ Mabel's busy flirting with someone that she hopes will be her boyfriend.

(A/N: Bare with me with the texts because I can't bring myself to write/text like most people apparently do and I write full sentences except a few things so... change it in your mind if you will)

 _P: Hey._

 _T: Hey, just got here._

 _P: I'm in Dillard's._

 _T: I thought we were supposed to meet in the food court?_

 _P: Heard Gideon and I ran into the nearest store to avoid him._

 _P: Come get me?_

 _T: Isn't Mabel with you?_

 _T: ... OMW_

 _P: No she isn't, she's in the food court flirting with that Aladdin looking dude from school_

 _T: Craig?_

 _T: I'm at Dillard's, where you at?_

 _P: Ig. Idk his name._

 _P: On the second story._

 _T: ..._

 _T: I'm not going up there._

 _P: Why?_

 _T: It's the BRA section!_

 _P: Please?_

 _T: No. Come down here._

 _P: ... you at the bottom of the escalator?_

 _T: Yeah._

 _P: OMW._

Pacifica sighs and stuffs her phone in her pocket and makes her way toward the escalator that'll take her downstairs (because for some reason they don't have them side by side). She glances around for Gideon and when she only sees Travis rounding the corner, she relaxes.

"Hey, Travis," she says and he jumps at the sight of her.

"Pacifica? What happened to your face?" he asks with a surprised look. "Did you have an allergic reaction or something?"

 _Oh, yeah, makeup,_ Pacifica thinks for a moment. "Or something. Mabel did this to my face so that Gideon will think I look ugly and hopefully leave me alone."

" _I'm_ thinking about leaving you alone," Travis says and earns himself a punch on the arm. "Kidding! Kidding! Geez."

 _And this is the person I chose to by my first friend outside of the family,_ Pacifica thinks with a roll of her eyes. "You're terrible."

"But you keep me around," he points out with a small, triumphant smile. "So, since Mabel's off being charmed by Craig, what do we do now?"

Pacifica shrugs. "Let her fall out of love naturally. It's not like she's gonna make that jerk her boyfriend."

Travis makes a face. "I dunno... Mabel tends to surprise people. For all we know she's out on a date with him right now... she does have a certain charm..."

"Ohmygosh, you have a crush on Mabel, don't you?"

"What?! No, that has to go against some best friend's code or something," Travis insists, though he has a little blush on his cheeks. "I mean, she's cute, but I think she's not the right type for me."

"So what _is_ your type?" Pacifica asks with a raised eyebrow- she's very curious at this point and won't stop bugging her friend until she finds out. "Who's your crush?"

"Sh-shouldn't we focus on making sure your cousin doesn't make the huge mistake of dating that jerk, Craig or something? You don't want him to become your _cousin-in-law_ , do you?"

She groans quietly and rubs her forehead as she feels the beginnings of a headache coming on at just the thought. "You're right... but don't think this is over. The only reason I'm letting it slide this time is because there's no way that Aladdin look-alike is joining my family by marrying my innocent little cousin."

"Yeah, I'm fine with that." Travis says and follows after his friend with a smile on his face.

"What's with the smile?" Pacifica asks as she looks around for Gideon.

"You didn't say I'm not your best friend," he replies. "I'm wearing you down!"

Pacifica rolls her eyes. "You're so lame."

"But you keep me around, so I can't be _that_ lame," he insists.

"Yeah, whatever," Pacifica grumbles while rolling her eyes. They go to the food court and it's absolutely full- as to be expected because it's lunch. Pacifica looks around and tries to find Mabel, but with all the other brunettes here, she can't seem to locate the Pines girl. Before she can spot her cousin, she _does_ spot Gideon eating a pizza on the far corner. "Crap!"

"What?" Travis asks. "Did you see Mabel and Craig making out or something?"

Pacifica shivers and glares at Travis. "Ew, no... though that might be worse than seeing Gideon over there."

Travis frowns. "Can't that guy leave you alone?... Why haven't you pummeled the little creep?"

"I would if I could, but one more offense and I'll have a warrant for my arrest since the police chief hates my guts," Pacifica grumbles. "There's no way I'm following Papa Stan's lead with getting in trouble with the law so beating up Gideon's not an option."

"Well, I don't have any offenses, I can beat 'im up for you," Travis replies.

"No, I need you to beat up Chester-"

"Craig," Travis corrects.

"Whatever. I need you to beat him up if they _do_ get together because inevitably he's gonna break her heart and he'll need to be punished and he's a huge tattle-tale. At least you'll only get your first strike so they'll go easy on you."

"Okay... so what're we gonna do right now?"

She manages to catch sight of Mabel and Craig and she looks back and forth between them and Gideon. She wants to talk her cousin out of making a huge mistake without the possibility of Gideon interrupting and causing her to flee before a point can be made. Then she looks all around and she sees a costume store and then her gaze travels to Travis and a smile eerily like Stan's creeps onto her face.

"Hey, Travis?"

"What?... why are you looking at me like that?"

"I need your help," she says and grabs his hand. "C'mon, I've got an idea!"

* * *

HAT: YES! My inspiration's back, baby!

'Ford: For now.

HAT: Shush up, don't rain on my parade, Stan.

'Ford: *shrugs* I'm just sayin'.

HAT: *groans* You're starting to sound like your brother.

'Ford: Can we hurry this up? I'm supposed to take Mabel and Dipper out for dinner in half an hour and it takes a good twenty minutes to get back to the Shack from here.

HAT: Oh, can I go?

'Ford: Can you pay for gas?

HAT: *pulls ten dollar bill* Yes.

'Ford: Okay.

HAT: *fist pump* Yes! Semi-free food!

'Ford: *picks up HAT and throws her over his shoulder* Review, everyone! Oh, um... please. *runs out of studio*

Director: *sighs and calls someone* Hello... is this HAT's mom? Yes, she's been kidnapped by a character again... yes, she's being fed... uh-huh... yes, she'll be home in time for the movie... alright... Bye... *groans and whispers into phone* Loveyoutooauntybye!

(Just something funny for those of you that actually read this bottom part)


	38. Chapter 38

HAT: Howdy, folks! Inspiration slowly but surely making this inch closer and closer to the end. Remember: fanfictionisfulloffeels, itgetsworsebeforeitgetsbetter, theremightbeasequel, BYE!

 **Disclaimer: I only own the plot and OCs, otherwise, Gravity Falls and it's characters belong to their rightful owners.**

* * *

"Pacifica, this is stupid," Travis deadpans at the edge of the food court twenty minutes later.

"C'mon, no one'll even know if it's you," Pacifica assures.

He gives her a look and says, " _Everyone's_ gonna know it's me."

Currently he's in a business suit- that _fits_ \- with a fake beard that is the same shade of black as his hair- she spent a good five minutes comparing colors to his hair- and used some makeup to make him look a bit older (and she's definitely glad she still remembers all those makeup videos she watched before she was kicked out) so now his cheekbones are enunciated and he has crows feet and dark circles under his eyes. She even went as far as to put old man perfume on him so that it'll be _convincing_.

Pacifica rolls her eyes. "You're more manly than Toby Determined, it'll work."

"Well... you _do_ have a point there," Travis mutters as soon as Toby Determined is mention.

"Just change your voice and you'll be fine," she assures. "Now go distract the lil' creep and I go break up Mabel and Carlton."

"Craig," Travis corrects.

Another eye roll. "Whatever. Like I care what his name is. He's _not_ gonna be in my family."

"Sure thing, Double P," Travis says and notices her grimace. "What, no good?"

"Not at all."

"I'll come up with something," he shrugs.

 _Proooobably not gonna happen anytime soon,_ Pacifica thinks- Travis had been trying for weeks to come up with a nickname for Pacifica that only he uses that isn't cheesy or lame or used by her family... so far he has had no such luck.

But she doesn't have time to focus on the developing friendship between the two of them. She has to focus on the developing whatever-ship happening between her cousin and that Chad person and Travis was slowing down the process.

"Yeah, yeah, just go distract Gideon," she hisses.

"I wish Dipper wasn't at the band competition," Travis whines with a pout.

"Quit your pouting and geit," Pacifica says with an odd mixture of northern and southern accents coming together at the last word.

As a kid (technically a teenager) she's begun to pick up on the accents she hears all the time and she's not the only one. Dipper and Mabel's accents were also changing- slowly but surely- with the change in environment and it was an odd mixture of northern and southern as well (and she's relieved not to be the only one).

She waits until she sees Travis engaging in conversation with Gideon before she slips into the crowd and makes her way toward Mabel and Charlie. She gets about a table's length away and then acts like she's part of a group while listening in on her cousin and Ciel's conversation.

"-end up with a sweet and cute relative like you?"

Mabel giggles almost obnoxiously loud. "Oh, stop... keep going."

He laughs a bit and says, "You're funny... y'know I wouldn't mind going on another date. Maybe dinner tomorrow?"

 _Oh. Hell. No,_ Pacifica thinks and makes her way over to the two and before Mabel can answer says, "Sorry, she's busy helping me tomorrow."

"Pacifica," Mabel hisses in frustration and then laughs nervously and looks at Cameron and says, "She's just kidding. I'm _totally_ up for-"

"Not wasting her time with you," Pacifica interrupts and nearly flinches at the force glare Mabel sets on her.

" _What I mean_ is," Mabel says as she goes from piercing glare to sweet, flirtatious look in the course of turning her head to look at Chad, "I'd love to."

Before Pacifica can outright forbid her cousin to go out with this jerk, a body runs into hers and she stumbles to the side. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Abort mission," Travis hisses in her ear. "We've been compromised."

"What the he- oh, crap," Pacifica hisses when she catches sight of Lil' Gideon- who has a clear view of Pacifica's face and he's _still_ going out of his way to get to her- and then flees with the black haired boy out of the food court.

"Hey! No running!" Joe- the security guard- shouts.

"We can't let them catch us alive," Pacifica says while grabbing Travis' wrist when he begins falling behind.

"E-excuse me, but not everyone runs track," Travis pants irritably.

 _You'd think that with all the paranormal stuff that goes on here, these people would know how to run for long periods of time,_ Pacifica thinks, but then remembers that she- herself- hadn't been much for running before unless it was an emergency and even then someone was doing the running for her... she only started running extensively after getting adopted into the Pines, so... yeah, she's probably being a little biased after so long of being with the Pines for about six months.

 _Only six months, huh- no. Run now, contemplate life later._

"You're a boxer, you should have more endurance than this," Pacifica scowls.

"Not running this fast!"

She dives toward Victoria's Secrets only to get tugged to a stop by a blushing Travis.

"C'mon!" Pacifica insists while tugging at him, but she can't make him budge.

"I'm _not_ going in there!"

Pacifica makes a face at him. "They know you're not buying anything for yourself, just _c'mon!_ "

"Can't we choose somewhere else to hide? I mean, he's probably not even close enough to see us anyway," he insists.

"Well, where do you think we should go?" Pacifica demands.

"Follow me," he says and twists his hand so she has no choice but to let go and then he grabs her wrist and leads the way.

It takes a long time for her to realize where they're going... and by a long time, walking in and seeing the siblings.

"Hey, guys, can we hide out in here?" Travis asks.

Dre scratches the scar under his eye. "Sure thing! Right, Crystal?"

The older teen shrugs. "Sure, I don't care... who're you two hiding from?"

"Gideon Gleeful," Pacifica groans while going to one of the chairs.

"Little punk's got an obsession with her," Travis informs while trying to look over the counter at what Crystal's doing. "What'cha workin' on?"

"Just some drawing," Crystal says with a shrug and then turns her attention to Pacifica. "Hey, is it me or did something happen to your face?"

"Crys! That's rude!" Dre hisses with a _look_ at his older sister.

"No, she's right. I had my cousin jack up my face to throw off Gideon... didn't work like I thought it would," Pacifica grumbles. "I mean, at a distance it even scared my dad and he has _cataracts._ How this boy is still interested, I don't know..."

"Well, you're a catch," Dre says. "You're pretty- well... most of the time. You're sweet and considerate- I mean, who else would try and get presents for so many people on twenty-five dollars?- and you're smart. Heck, I'd go out with you."

"Erm... thanks?" Pacifica says hesitantly. _Was that an attempt at flirting or to cheer me up?_

The fact that she has to question whether or not someone is flirting with her or not is a testament to how disinterested in boys she's become- six months living with the guys and only one girl three months after just living with guys kinda does that to a girl apparently. Not only that, but she wouldn't want to subject any guy to getting intimidated and threatened by either Stan (and McGucket if he's there).

"Ignore my idiot brother," Crystal says as she flicks his temple and earns herself a glare. "He has no filter."

"Hey!"

Travis laughs at their antics and says, "I dunno. She's got a point."

"Shut up! You're supposed to side with me," the older boy says while pushing Travis.

"Whatever, I was just telling the truth- that's why friends are supposed to do," the onyx haired boy shrugs.

Pacifica smiles and finds that she likes hanging out with them just as much as she likes hanging out with everyone in the Shack. _Maybe I've my small group of friends outside of family?_

After all, Mabel had Candy and Grenda and Dipper had... well, whatever those guys' names were (she hasn't bothered with Dipper's friends all that much). Why can't Pacifica have her own group of friends?

 _Stop, you don't know them that well, not to be friends anyway,_ Pacifica thinks to herself.

"Hey, what're you-?" Pacifica demands when Travis drags her behind the counter and is cut off when his hand covers her mouth.

"-nd then I dunked him! It was great!"

Pacifica stiffens at the voice. _No... oh, please, not now! What's he doing here?_

Travis must've seen him just before he came in...

Pacifica's emotions are all over the place and she can't settle on anger or fear. Dan- the terror of her eight grade year it seems- is in the one place in the mall other then Victoria's Secrets where she could feel safe. Will she never be rid of him? Will he just pop up in her life and ruin it for her for the rest of her life (if he doesn't kill her first)?

She doesn't even realize that she's shaking until Travis puts an arm around her in a hug and she stiffens in surprise. She's not really used to being comforted in this way- never really was- but she relaxes minutely... until she hears _him_ talking again.

"Hey, Crystal," Dan says with a flirtatious voice, but there's an underlying hint of danger.

Pacifica would've shouted for Crystal not to buy it if it weren't for the fear in her veins and the hand over her mouth.

"Whaddoyawant, Dan?" Dre asks with a sneer.

"Stop being rude to the customer," Crystal hisses- Pacifica can hear that she doesn't like Dan either.

"Yeah, _Dre_ , stop being rude," Dan says cockily.

Pacifica notices Dre stiffen and his grip on the counter is so tight that his knuckles turn white, but he keeps a mean look on his face like he's not effected at all. Pacifica has to give him props on that since she's seen how... terrifying Dan can be when in public.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to leave if you aren't going to buy anything," Crystal says.

"Fine, we'll leave," Dan sighs. "You guys are no fun... oh, and check ya later Pacifica."

Pacifica's entire body seizes and she begins to shake after the door closes. _How did he know I was here? What does 'check ya later' mean?_

So many questions run through her mind and it's suddenly hard to breathe with her chest tightening up.

"What's going on?" Travis asks worriedly with a bubble of fear in his chest as he holds a trembling Pacifica while she stares into nothingness with glazed eyes.

"I think she's having a panic attack," Crystal says with a panic in her voice he's never heard before.

"Whaddowedo?" Travis asks.

"Calm down- first of all- you can't do anything helpful when you panic," Dre says irritably while reading something on his phone. "Says here we gotta talk her down- ask her easy questions and stuff... aaand..."

"Gimme that," Travis snaps quietly when his friend takes too long and snatches the phone from his friend and reads the information quickly. "Crystal, go make sure no one comes into the store until after she's calmed down. Dre, stay here to help me."

Dre seems to be the calmest of all four of them- after all, he's the one that's been in more pressing situations (as his scar under his left eye would suggest) and right now Travis needs that calm as an anchor so he can help Pacifica through her panic attack.

 _I knew Dan was a bad guy and hurt her, but..._ He didn't know how bad it really was.

"Pacifica, can you hear me?" Travis asks while adjusting himself so that she'd be able to look into his eyes if she focused.

He asks this question slowly and repeatedly until most of the glaze is gone from her eyes and he receives a nod.

Dre taps his fingers against his knee from his kneeled position- a nervous habit Travis has seen only when something was really bothering him. The black haired boy had no time to dwell on the brown eyed boy's anxiety at the moment- he has to focus on the panicking blue eyed girl in front of him.

"Can you tell me your name?" Travis asks.

She seems to struggle for a while, but eventually she manages to stutter, "P-P-Pa-c-cifi-ca... P-Pi-ines..."

"Good," Travis says. "You're doing good. Can you lift your hands over your head for me?"

She gives him an incredulous look- a vast improvement from several seconds ago.

"Just do it , okay?" Dre begs insistently, but gently from where he is.

Her hands shake, but she lifts them above her head as requested.

"You're doing great. You can put them down now" he says.

"Do the breathing technique," Dre says quietly to Travis after glancing at his phone that he snatched back at some point.

Pacifica makes a confused face and she seems lost.

"We're just gonna breathe in and out," Travis says while grabbing one of her hands and squeezing it supportively. "Just breathe with me and Dre. In... out... 1... in... out... 2- you're doing great."

He counts all the way to fourteen before Pacifica lurches forward and hugs him and Dre- much to their surprise. He continues to assure her that everything's alright and Dre joins in. They hug her back despite the initial shock because of fear that she might dissolve back into a panic attack if not careful.

"Thank you," she murmurs earnestly.

"Anything for a friend," Travis replies.

"No problem, Paz," Dre says while spitting her hair out of his mouth.

* * *

HAT: I suck at endings... but hopefully this will do for now until the next chapter gets created.

Dipper: Why did you make Pacifica have a panic attack?!

HAT: So when she overcomes the Dan obstacle, it'll be a show of great growth in overcoming fear!

Dipper: And how's she gonna overcome the fear?

Gideon: She is not at liberty to tell you that.

Dipper: Wha- Gideon?!... since when were you her legal advisor?

Gideon: Never, she just wanted me in here.

Dipper: *rolls eyes* Of course... wait, where'd she go?!

Gideon: She took the food!

Stan: AFTER HER!

*large crowd pursues HAT*

Dipper: *sighs* These people and food... Review! *runs after crowd to et food back*


	39. Chapter 39

HAT: Inspiration and motivation are fickle things, but I managed to squeeze another chapter out. I hope that you enjoy, soon it'll pick up, I promise. For now, have a bit of patience with me.

 **Disclaimer: I don't anything but the plot.**

* * *

Near the end of the day when Pacifica gets the text from Stanford that he's coming to pick her up, she goes to the front since she's sure that her cousin got the message. She waits for both Mabel and Stanford to show up, but she gets antsy about Mabel not showing up. Did Dan get her? Did Chester take her away? Was Carl actually one of Dan's people and trying to get Mabel killed? Should she run inside and search for her?

Before she could act on that last thought, Mabel comes out with a stony look on her face and Pacifica sighs quietly with a mixture of pure and utter relief and mild annoyance. Couldn't Mabel see that she's just trying to keep her from making a terrible decision? That Charlie was a _horri_ _ble_ person that doesn't deserve Mabel at all? Was she still that boy crazy that she couldn't see when a guy was all wrong for her or for any girl, really?

She shakes this off when she sees Stanford pull up in the Stanley Mobile and then rushes inside and gets into the back seat behind the driver's seat.

"How was your trip to the mall?" Stanford asks as he pulls off.

"Fine," the girls say as one.

He stays silent for pretty much the rest of the drive.

When they finally return home he tells them, "Don't forget to clean your room or I'll do it for you."

And they know what comes with Stanford cleaning their room- all of their precious items will get thrown away.

"Yes Grunkle Ford/Uncle Stan," they say and rush up the stairs to get started on cleaning up.

There's already a trashcan hanging on their door- _of course_.

Pacifica grabs it as they enter and wordlessly begins going through the stuff on her side of the room.

"You didn't have to do that," Mabel says as she throws away some old homework she got a 83 on. "Craig's not a bad guy."

Pacifica sighs- she does _not_ want to have this conversation right now. "Mabel, could you drop it?"

"Will you stop trying to get between me and Craig?"

"Mabel, he's a terrible person," Pacifica deadpans.

"How do you know that? You never spent time with him before or after were adopted by Grunkle Stan," Mabel insists with her hands on her hips.

"I don't have to. Ask around the school- he's bad news. He's all nice and stuff now, but when you don't give him what he wants, that's when he changes. I'm looking out for _you_ because you're so _boy crazy_ that you can't see what's right in front of your face."

"I can look after myself just fine!"

Pacifica pinches the bridge of her nose- she's gotta stop hanging around Stanley- and groans in frustration. "Mabel-"

The sweater clad girl shakes her head. "No, I don't wanna hear it. You and Dipper always underestimate my judge of character. I'm gonna prove to you Craig is a good guy and that we're _perfect_ for each other."

Pacifica throws her arms up in exasperation. "Fine! But when he turns out to be a buttmunch, don't come cryin' t' me!"

She can't even be in the same room as Mabel since she won't listen to reason so she storms out. She goes straight to the place on the roof that Wendy showed her and lays there, staring up at the sky for a long time.

 _Why can't she see I'm just trying to look out for her?_ Pacifica thinks with frustration, her sapphire stare turning to a glare.

"Pssst! Pacifica!"

Said girl sits up and looks around until she spots a manotaur standing at the base of the Mystery Shack.

"Chutzpar? What're you doing here?" The bi-color haired girl asks with a small frown.

"AH!" Chutzpar jumps at her face. "Who destroyed your face?!"

Pacifica groans. "It's makeup. I'll wash it off later. Now what're you doing here? Uncle Stan told you not to come around here."

"I know, but it's important," Chutzpar insists. "Listen, I think I found something that can help you with your non-human-human problem."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but there's a spell that keeps it hidden- if we don't act fast, it'll be gone. Do you have your small magic box?" She nods. "Alright, jump down and I'll catch you."

She scoots to the edge of the roof and then jumps down into Chutzpar's arms and he catches her like she expected. She and Chutzpar became really good buddies when they were trapped in a cave waiting for help. Eventually Stanford ended up blasting through with some light cannon. Needless to say they're very close now after having so much time to bond. He even let her braid his beard which was a sign of friendship and trust among his kind (a great honor).

Chutzpar puts her on his shoulders and he ran into the forest.

 _With any luck, this will have some sort of key to getting Dan to leave us alone._

Chutzpar runs through the forest and makes his way to a cave near a river. This was a part of the forest she hadn't seen much of despite all of her adventures with her cousins and uncle. She takes a break to wash all the makeup from her face and then follows the Manotaur into the cave.

On the wall there are eyes of all different colors, but the strange thing is that they seem to be florescent.

Pacifica walks forward and her fingers brush against a blue pair of eyes and chills run down her spine. There's writing but none that she's ever come across before and doesn't recall seeing in her uncle's journals either.

She takes several pictures of every inch and Chutzpar stays near her the entire time. She feels safer with the Manotaur there- his constant presence assures her that she isn't alone and that she's safe. As she goes through her pictures to make sure she got everything she feels a chill run down her spine and she turns to look at the entrance, but there's no one there.

 _It must be in my head,_ she thinks.

"C'mon, Chutzpar, let's go get this to Uncle Stan," she says while holding her phone tightly in her hand.

"Climb atop my back hair."

Once Pacifica's securely on his shoulders he takes off back towards the Mystery Shack, but Pacifica can't shake the chill.

* * *

Stanford actually cracked a genuine smile upon seeing the pictures and demanded Pacifica have them printed out so that he could look at them properly and decipher them.

In the middle of the printing process he frowns. "What is it, Pep?"

"Nothing," she lies.

"Statistically that's improbable seeing as I know you very well and your eyebrows aren't relaxed... now either you can tell me or I can find your diary-"

"I hid it someplace else," Pacifica cuts in.

"I put a tracking device on it," Stanford says with a smirk.

Pacifica groans and slams her head on the table. "You suck!"

"Yes, yes, now out with it," the stoic man says.

Pacifica looks away from him and asks in a quiet voice, "Why can't I just be a normal kid? With normal problems?"

When Stanford doesn't speak up she takes this as her sign to continue speaking.

She licks her lips apprehensively.

She's never really dumped all of her problems on someone else. Usually one of many if she does at all. To dump all of her problems on another human being would be like baring a part of her soul. It would leave her feeling practically naked. On top of that, she has no idea how this man will react. Despite his stoic and indifferent attitude, he's just as overprotective as his abrasive twin and who knows what he'll _do_.

Stanford- as expected- goes about as if this isn't a big deal and continues manning the printing station, patiently waiting for her to continue and voice her problems.

"Well, out of all my problems, the most recent one's the one that's most- _the_ most normal," Pacifica corrects herself when he looks ready to do so- she needs to stop picking up McGucket's speaking habits. "Mabel and I got in a fight... she got mad about me trying to get her away from this guy who's a _total_ douche bag. She's just too boy crazy to see that him for what he's worth and I don't wanna see her get hurt, but she won't let me help her."

"Sometimes people need to learn the hard way," Stanford shrugs.

"You know how Mabel is! She's too sweet and innocent- she can't handle that kinda heartbreak," Pacifica insists.

Stanford fixes her with a steady gaze. "She's much stronger than you think just like you're much stronger than others think. Just be there for her after it all goes downhill."

She nods slowly. "Alright..."

"You have other problems besides this one... I take it school's not getting any better and neither is the situation with... the _expers beastia._ "

Pacifica nods slowly and hugs her knees to her chest. "It's all too much... I just don't wanna deal with this anymore."

"Too bad, life's not fair."

She glares up at him. "Aren't you supposed to try and make me feel better?"

"And lie to you? Give you falls hope? While- yes- these things do pass and things get easier, life will continue to be hard."

"Then what's the point of even trying?" She grumbles with her shoulders slumped in defeat.

He flicks her forehead and asks, "What would you tell me if I asked you that?"

"What?! Uncle Stan, I'm not good at giving advice! I can barely make it through my own problems!"

"If I were about to give up on life and starve myself, what would you say to change my mind?" Stanford says.

"I-I don't know!"

"Yes you do. If I were about to kill myself right now, what would you say to prevent that from happening?"

That thought- of him trying to kill himself- was terrifying. He's so strong and she doesn't like the thought at all.

"Why would you even want to do that?"

"Because life's hard. I'm no good to anybody," he says.

"You're family- we stick together through thick and thin," Pacifica insists. "You're so smart and you know a lot about all of the creatures here- it's really useful!"

"And that's what you should remember. You're important to us- Stan, Fiddleford, and the twins and that little friend of yours you made- Travis. We're all willing to help you so don't be afraid to ask for our help for more than just homework."

Pacifica grows quiet and stares down at the ground.

"204-20," Stanford says while ruffling her hair. "Now let's focus on one problem first- Dan. This may be what we're looking for- it may have a weakness."

"How're you gonna learn it if no one's ever translated this stuff before?" Pacifica asks, a bit relieved at the subject change.

"The same way I always do," he replies.

"And how's that?"

"I use random letters until it makes sense," he replies while smirking at her.

She groans. "This is gonna take forever."

* * *

HAT: It took a while, but I finally squeezed out another chapter. I've got plenty planned after this, but we're finally I think past the halfway mark to this being done as far as everything I've plotted beforehand. All we gotta do is- ACK!

Soos: Dude, you almost gave away the rest of the plot!

HAT: Oh, yeah. Thanks for saving me, Soos.

Soos: No problem. Want me to do the thing?

HAT: Yes, please!~

Soos: Dudes, you should review this chapter.


	40. Chapter 40

HAT: Okay, so big things are coming soon and I'm hoping that things go smoothly from now on (have to redo the plot a little, but... yeah). This may be a short chapter, but there's gonna be a much longer chapter next.

 **Disclaimer: I don't anything but the plot.**

* * *

"Pep, hurry up! Do you want me to steal your-"

"I'm coming, Uncle Ford!" Pacifica calls back down and then pulls on her running shoes and grabs her bag. As she runs downstairs she sees Dipper standing there with a smug smile. "What?"

"You just called him Uncle Ford," Dipper teases.

Pacifica glares at him. "Shut up."

"We got to you."

Pacifica punches his arm. "Oh, shut up. Most people call him Ford anyway."

Dipper laughs and rubs his arm. "C'mon, let's get to that track meet."

"Whoo! You're gonna knock 'em dead," Stanley says as he enters the living room, leaving the children in there staring in shock at her.

"W-what're you doing?" Pacifica asks, staring at her dad.

He's not wearing a shirt and has his entire body covered in paint of the school's colors and he had her name written on his stomach- or at least the nickname he and Stanford had given her when they adopted her into the family.

"What?" Stanley asks. "Too much glitter? That was Mabel's idea."

"This isn't football, this is track," Dipper insists. "Please- for the sake of everyone, put on a shirt."

"Okay, okay, fine," Stanley grunts and then puts on a shirt with Pacifica's face on it.

"I'm doomed," Pacifica groans while covering her face.

"Stanley, go put on something else, you're gonna embarrass her," Stanford deadpans.

"C'mon, I'm supporting my daughter!" Stanley insists.

"Please support me in your regular suit," Pacifica begs, face still covered.

Stanley heaves a long groan. "Fine."

She smiles up at him, relief flooding through her system. "Thanks, Papa."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbles while ruffling her hair and going back to his room.

"Thank you, Uncle Ford," she says to him after she hears Stan's door close.

"I did it for selfish reasons," he reasons.

She punches his side lightly and says, "You know you love me."

"Scientifically speaking, yes. Yes I do," he agrees while pulling her into a one armed hug with a smile.

Pacifica rolls her eyes with a smile. "C'mon, we're gonna be late."

"How about I give you a ride and the rest of you dudes come and catch up?" Soos offers.

"I don't see why not," Stanford shrugs.

Hat lets out a sigh of relief and says her goodbyes to her family and then walks out with Soos and gets into his truck.

"Nervous?" Soos asks.

Pacifica shrugs. "Eh? The race I'm not nervous about- all I really gotta do is run... my family on the other hand..."

Soos laughs. "Yeah, family's kind of embarrassing, but it's no fun if they aren't, ya know?"

Pacifica laughs quietly. "Yeah you're right."

She looks out the window and smiles to herself- it seems that things are finally getting to be a bit normal. Sure, it's a bit cramped in the Shack with six people living there and Mabel's still dating that Chester guy, but it's still a good normal. The normal drama instead of the supernatural where Dan tries to kill her and her family.

 _Maybe he's given up?_

Hopeful thinking, but that's probably not the case.

As they pull up to the school Pacifica takes deep, calming breathes. She just has to get in her zone- it's gonna go well. She's gonna do fantastic and she's gonna be _at least_ fourth place and she's gonna go home with her family and have a victory dinner no matter what place she gets. Her aim is that victory dinner with her family so she'll run with that in mind.

 _Do it for the food_ , she thinks as she stretches and then notices Soos and Wendy sitting together with spots open for the rest of the family with a sign that says "Go Pacifica" with exclamation points all over it. She can't help but smile and mentally add, _And my family, too._

She readjusts her ponytail so that it will stay without giving her a headache and then grins to herself. She's gonna get a metal and that's all there is to it.

Her family is soon to arrive and she gets one last drink of water before going to the starting line.

3...

2...

1...

The gunshot and they were off.

* * *

"Victory meal!" Soos cheers as they enter the diner.

"Dude, you did awesome," Wendy says with a grin.

Pacifica grins proudly from her place on her dad's shoulders with a silver medal around her neck. "Thanks. There were a lot of fast people this running."

Stanford picks her up and places her on her feet so she can get in her seat. "They practiced just as much as you did. You were only out practiced by one, that's something to be proud of."

First place went to someone from a different school named Madison- since she was so sweet, Pacifica was kind of happy she lost to her of all people. They exchanged numbers and promised each other they'd hang out sometime.

"Whaddoya want, kid?" Stanley asks.

"Let us have steak!" Pacifica sheers.

"Steak from here? I can grill some at home for cheaper," Stanley complains.

"... to the Shack!" The teenagers cheer.

"Alright, alright, but this is taking up a lotta gas," Stanley grumbles and leads them out of the diner.

The excitement dies down in the buying of steaks at the store and Pacifica sighs.

"Why couldn't we wait in the car?" Dipper asks with a groan.

"Because we said so," Stanley grunts.

"That's not a valid answer," Pacifica argues.

"Because it's safer for you to be with us while we're shopping instead of waiting in the car," Stanford answers. "We don't want you to get kidnapped or anything like that."

It was nearly asked who would bother to take them, but a heavy silence hangs in the air. Lots of things and people could try to take them while they're away from their guardians. Whether it be supernatural or unnatural- this is something that was a constant worry for adults in this day and age (especially in this town).

After about thirty more minutes they're back at the Shack having a barbecue and they have a good time eating steaks.

 _Why can't most days be like this?_ Pacifica wonders idly while eating her salad.

Because all good things must come to an end.

* * *

Hat: Whoo! We're getting closer and closer- some things will probably be irrelevant now that things are moving in such a way- maybe one day I'll redo this story and improve it... that day is not today. Today we're keeping this train going!

Stan: What've you got planned?

Hat: Noooothing... say it, please?

Stan: Review... now wha- WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND RUNNING?!


	41. Chapter 41

HAT: It's been forever and a day since I've updated this one, huh? Well, this chapter's where everything takes a turn to the left. **I WARN YOU** that this has **VIOLENCE/TORTURE** , and there's also **DEATH**. Now that I've given you warning, I can proceed to let you read this story.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything aside from the plot and OCs.**

* * *

"Pacifica, please... say something," Stanford begs quietly.

He's kneeled in front of her and looking up at her with an uncharacteristic amount of concern leaking into his features. That concern only grows with her silence and he looks just about desperate at this point- something she's never seen before.

"Say something... _anything_ , please," he begs and then lowers his chin so she won't be able to see the tears in his eyes- not that she's looking directly at him anyway.

 _It's all my fault. I should've been there,_ he thinks while rubbing his eyes.

He's not the only one with this thought process. Everyone's thinking this- especially the adults. If they'd been there they would've been able to save her from this trauma and she wouldn't be in this state for so long- not saying a word, barely eating, barely living. Her eyes no longer hold the spark they used to- they're haunted like an old man who's seen too much- like the Stans' eyes. It's not right.

"Please, sweetie... say something," he begs again with tears in his voice.

And yet the silence persists...

 **-EARLIER THAT WEEK-**

 _"See ya, guys!" Mabel shouts as she goes to the door._

 _"Wait, you're not coming to the race?" Pacifica asks, baffled._

 _"Craig and I are going on a date," Mabel informs._

 _Pacifica groans and rolls her eyes. "Ugh,_ him. _Why would he bother when he knows there's a big race today? Didn't you tell him that you were gonna come?"_

 _Mabel shrugs. "It slipped my mind. I forgot that your race was today when he asked."_

 _"You could take him to the race," Pacifica suggests._

 _"Sorry, Pacifica, he already made reservations at this restaurant and paid for it- there's no way he can cancel now," Mabel insists._

 _Pacifica scoffs and shakes her head. "Fine, go ahead and go on your date."_

He's just gonna break your heart anyway, _she thinks while going back upstairs to change._

 _She just has to stop thinking for a while- get back into her zone so she won't get distracted during the race and wind up coming fourth or worse. Not think about Mabel and her stupid boyfriend or the fact that she's probably gonna come crying to her and she'll have to bite back an "I told you so" to keep her from feeling worse._

 _"Pacifica!"_

Oh, no, _Pacifica thinks and then opens her bedroom window and looks down at Gideon decked out in her school colors with a large grin on his face._

 _"Whaddoyouwant, Gideon?" Pacifica demands with an icy glare that could only be described as looking like Stanford's._

Maybe if I'm lucky one of them'll use the hose on him, _Pacifica thinks- her mind automatically turning to the Stans._

 _"Ah just wanted t' wish you good luck on your race t'day," he says bashfully while kicking the ground beneath his feet._

 _"O...kay... thank you, I guess," Pacifica replies._

 _Gideon looks like he wants to say something else, but he settles on, "See ya, Pacifica!"_

 _"Uh... see ya," Pacifica replies and then closes her bedroom window and locks it as well. "Okay, that was... weird."_

 _She shakes her head and grabs her duffel bag._ I don't have time to worry about that.

 _"Pacifica are you ready to go?!" Stanley calls._

 _"Yeah, Papa!" She calls back and slings her duffle bag over her shoulder._

 _As she makes her way down she can't help but feel her gut plummet down as well. Something's wrong- aside from the obvious- but she ignores it and tells herself to get her head in the game. She can worry about everything else after the race. Everything can be dealt with after the race... or at least that's what she's telling herself._

 _As she gets to the bottom steps she readjusts the bag on her shoulder and finds Dipper standing there with his jacket thrown on and hands stuffed in his pockets._

 _"Hey, everyone's in the car already," Dipper says._

 _Pacifica nods. "Alright. Let's go."_

 _He stops her before she walks out and quietly asks, "Are you okay?"_

 _She's quiet for a moment before she says, "Fine... just nervous over the race."_

 _He gives her a disbelieving look. "You're never nervous about a race. What's really wrong?"_

 _"... Mabel... did you know?"_

 _"No, I just found out twenty minutes ago," he replies._

 _She shakes her head and takes his hand to drag him to the car. "C'mon, let's go. We don't have time to worry about her right now. She'll be fine for tonight- he probably won't do anything stupid for a few more dates anyway."_

 _They climb into the backseat of the car and buckle up upon Stanford's glowering when they fail to do so immediately._

 _Stanley starts driving to the school and Pacifica closes her eyes and takes deep breaths to try and focus. But everything's swarming in her head and she can't_ concentrate _like she normally would._

 _Stanford reaches back and pokes her forehead lightly. "Remember the trick?"_

 _Pacifica's confused for a moment and then blinks in realization._ Oh, yeah...

 _She crosses her legs in the seat and brings her hands in front of her and crossed her fingers inside of her hands and then lets her thumbs touch at the top. Her eyes close and she takes deep breathes, sorting through her thoughts slowly and soon everything settles back to where they need to be._

 _"Better?" Stanford asks._

 _She nods. "Yeah... much better."_

 _Stanford nods and turns back to look at the road._

 _Pacifica readjusts her ponytail._ Yeah, just a few thoughts...

 _Once they finally pull up in front of the school, Pacifica practically leaps out of the car with her duffel bag at hand and runs towards the track. She thinks of this as a sort of warmup in case she doesn't have the chance to actually warm up (which she should)._

 _She sees McGucket sitting beside Soos and Travis on the bleachers and smiles a little to herself. She goes off to the side and stretches, eyes darting around for anything unusual and there's nothing- there usually aren't at the track meets._

 _Before she knows it she's at the starting line ready to take off at a moment's notice._

 _As the gun shoots she takes off and goes at a steady pace, staying with the group for a about a mile and a half before she pulls ahead as she usually does. When she puts a decent amount of distance between herself and the group she grins triumphantly. Sure, she's third place at the moment, but there's no doubt she can pull ahead if she keeps up at this pace._

 _Suddenly she sees a flash of electric blue light and she stops, panting and looking around. She shakes her head and starts running again._

He can't be stupid enough to try and attack me in the middle of a race... can he?

 _Fear trickles through her veins and she starts running faster. If she can only make it close to the second place person (who is much closer than the group) than she should be fine._

Should be.

 _She shakes her head of the intrusive thought and keeps moving._

Don't slow down. Don't slow down, _she chants to herself._

 _Unfortunately the speed she goes can't stop him from doing what he wants._

 _She's grabbed and gagged before she has time to process it and carried far from the course. She tries to fight back and tries screaming- surely even a paranormal creature will hear her and save her somehow?_

 _They end up deep in the forest and she's dumped on the ground where there's patchy grass. She pushes herself up and glares at Dan as he stands there smirking with that evil glint in his electric eyes._

 _"My, you're interesting. You're scared and you still fight," Dan says and then kneels in front of her. "Would be less annoying if you weren't a pipsqueak."_

 _"Get away from me!" Pacifica immediately tries to punch him, but he's got much better reflexes and he dodges with a cocky smirk._

 _"Feisty," he notes and then takes her wrist and twists it painfully. "You're very breakable y'know."_

 _She glares at him. "Let me go."_

 _"You're wish is my command Princess Northwest!" He sneers and throws her arm carelessly so it twists more, but doesn't break._

 _"I'm a Pines," Pacifica snarls at him as she pushes herself up._

 _"I don't care what you_ think _you are. You can never be anything more than what you've always been."_

 _Pacifica glares at him and shakes a bit with hate, fear, and a crippling sense of hopelessness and self-doubt building in her chest at his words._

 _What if he's right? What if everything she's done to change who she is, every bond she's made with people who used to be her enemies... means nothing? That no matter what she does she can never get away from the blood that runs in her veins. She can never run from the Northwests because they're apart of her... and it's inevitable that she'll turn into... into_ them.

 _"Are you_ crying _Northwest?"_

 _"Screw you," she hisses while wiping her tears from her eyes and glaring at him._

 _Dan shakes his head with mock disappointment. "So rude, Northwest. I outta teach you some manners."_

 _Pacifica moves back and tries to dodge him as he moves to grab her. The keyword is "try" in this sentence. She tries to bend his pinky back, but this fails as well and his fingers grip her arm so tightly that she's sure that there is already a large purple bruise on her arm. She uses her free arm to guard her face as he starts hitting her and she whimpers with pain and fear. She just wants to run- find her family and be safe and far from this situation._

 _"Stop!" Pacifica begs._

 _"Make me stop," he snarls._

 _She punches him in the crotch and his grip loosens enough that she can tear away and start to run. She doesn't care about the race- a trivial thing- she just wants to get to people in general._

 _She's grabbed by her ankle and dragged down to the ground. She can feel that any humor he's had in the situation are gone and the stormy look on his face causes her insides feel as if they've been grabbed by a cold hand._

 _Her fingers dig into the dirt as he drags her and she hears the sound of water nearby._

How far away are we? _Pacifica wonders just before he takes her hair in his fist._

 _"Better hope you've got gills and you just don't know it."_

 _She barely gets the chance to take a breath before her head's under the water._ _She digs her fingernails into his skin to try and pry his hand away or make him feel enough pain to loosen his grip. This- it seems- only makes his grip tighter. Her lungs are burning and she_ _needs air in her lungs_ right now. _Struggle as she might, her attempts are futile._

 _He pulls her head above water and she greedily breathes the air right before she's ducked under again._

 _Pacifica reaches around, trying to find a weapon of some sorts. Suddenly her fingers brush against something rough and as her hand wraps around it she realizes it's a large rock. She lifts her head and slams it against his temple, causing him to fall over onto his side._

 _As she sits up and takes another breath of precious air, she tries to clear her eyes and see what's going on._

 _Dan is lying on the ground, groaning quietly and there's a thick branch laying nearby with a sharp enough end to take care of anything._

 _Without hesitation she scrambles for it and takes it in her hands and turns to him and finds his dazed electric blue eyes on her and it causes her to freeze._

What am I doing? _The thought is so brief she doesn't even realize it passed by._

 _Dan pushes himself up and lunges toward her and she does the only thing she can do and uses the branch to defend herself. The wood breaks through the material of his shirt and his skin and goes right through his back. He stares at her for a long moment before he drops to his knees and she's the only thing supporting his weight._

 _His fingers brush against his blood and he marvels at his dark crimson color for a moment before his eyes flicker up to her again and he reaches forward, but his hand only brushes against her arm before he grows weak. The glow in his eyes dull and she stares at him fearfully and as she hears him whisper his last words her heart sinks with his body as it slumps to the side._

 _She stares at the place where his eyes had been before and tears begin to gather in her electric blue eyes as she finally realizes the weight of what she's done._

* * *

HAT: I know! I know! I'm terrible!

Stan: What the hell, Hat?!

HAT: It will _all_ be explained in a few chapters, rest assured! Now please say it.

Stan: *grabs the collar of HAT's shirt* Review. HAAAAT, you've got some 'splaining to do!

HAT: *sighs* Just... just let it fade to black.


	42. Chapter 42

Hat: Let's just get straight to it since I'm gonna be rambling at the end anyway.

Disclaimer: Aside from the plot and OCs, I don't own Gravity Falls.

* * *

 _She doesn't know how long she sits on the cold ground with Dan's body in front of her with a branch sticking out, but it's long enough that the sun's sunk low in the sky and the air's grown cold. She's shivering, but the cold is only a small factor of being the cause._

 _Distantly she recognizes that there is a voice calling her name, but she can't bring herself to respond._

 _The first one to find her is Gideon._

 _He was one of the first to volunteer to look for her and he relied on his gut to try and get a vague sense of where she could be. His blue eyes comb the forest, desperate to find Pacifica because he_ knows _that she's hurt. He shared a look with the Pines family when he got that gut-wrenching feeling._

 _He calls her name and he can feel his voice trying to go hoarse, but he can't give up._

 _Gideon nearly misses her because she's so still, but he manages to catch a glimpse of her bicolored hair. He runs forward calling her name with relief flooding his system until he notices the dead body in front of her and the fact that she's trembling._

 _"P'cifica," Gideon says quietly while touching her shoulder, but he gets no response._

 _He realizes something's very wrong- something that he can't fix. He takes off his slightly oversized jacket and puts it over her shoulders and takes a hand in his and finds dried blood on it. There's no doubt in his mind that she was the one that ended up killing the guy- Dan._

 _"Ah'm gonna get help, okay? You're gonna be fine," Gideon assures and pulls out his cellphone with his free hand and immediately calls his dad. "D-daddy, ah found 'er. Come over by the lake."_

Ah'll be right there, _" Bud replies._

 _"Thank you, daddy."_

 _It takes a good ten minutes for Bud Gleeful to show up and when he does Stanford is walking with him._

 _As soon as Stanford catches sight of his knees he breaks into a run and kneels in front of her, checking her over silently. "Shock... hypothermia... damn, Pep..."_

 _He takes off his trench coat and wraps her up in it and picks her up. "Thank you, Gideon."_

 _"No problem, sir... is she gonna be alright?"_

 _"Too soon to tell," Stanford admits._

 _Gideon's stomach rolls uneasily. "A-and what do we do about the body?"_

 _"Call Stan, he'll handle it," Stanford calls back, already halfway back to the truck he'd borrowed from his brother's employee._

 _"Can ah come with you?" Gideon asks, his worry bubbling inside of his chest._

 _Stanford rolls his eyes and says gruffly, "Fine, get in."_

 _Gideon climbs into the back seat of the car and readjusts the large coat so that Pacifica's legs are completely covered after Stanford puts her down and buckles her up. Stanford starts driving almost before he even closes the door and doesn't bother putting on a seatbelt._

 _Gideon's heart leaps into his chest as they take off and puts on his seatbelt quickly- better safe than sorry. After fumbling for a few seconds he manages and then reaches out and holds Pacifica's shoulder to make sure she doesn't flop everywhere._

 _"Don't worry P'cifica, Mr. Pines knows exactly what t' do," Gideon assures, though it's more for himself than for her._

 _He flexes the fingers of his free hand nervously when he gets no sort of response._

Has she even blinked this entire time? _He wonders vaguely._

 _Before he knows it they're at the hospital and Gideon quickly unbuckles Pacifica, his palms sweating and lips apologetic. She still doesn't respond even as she's picked up by Stanford._

 _"Call Dipper and Mabel and tell them you found her," Stanford orders. "And lock the car."_

 _"Y-yes, sir!" Gideon stutters and locks the doors first and then quickly follows after Stanford. "W-wait, I don't have their numbers!"_

 _After Stanford rattles them off, Gideon calls and bites on his thumbnail while he waits, blue eyes watching as Pacifica is rolled away on a gurney with Stanford running in after them._

 _"Hello? Who's this?" Dipper's voice answers._

 _"It's Gideon!"_

 _"Ug-"_

 _"Don't hang up! Ah'm with yer uncle and we found P'cifica. We're at the hospital," Gideon quickly rattles off in hopes Dipper won't miss the message he was assigned to give._

 _"What happened?" Dipper asks with a serious voice._

 _"Ah dunno. Ah found her in the woods with this dead man and she wouldn't talk or even move. Ah-ah think she's in shock," Gideon answers as he runs a hand through his white locks._

 _"We'll be right there," Dipper replies and then hangs up._

 _Gideon hangs up the phone and stands there in the lobby by himself with a feeling of helplessness. He doesn't know what to do anymore... there's nothing he_ can _do other than wait and hope and pray for the best that Pacifica gets through this with no problems._

I'm so stupid, I'm _so_ stupid, _Mabel thinks as she rides in the car with her great uncle who stopped to get her on the way to the hospital._ I can't believe how stupid I am! You just _had_ to go on that date with your boyfriend... I'm such a jerk.

 _She glances up at the front seat and finds Stanley gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles are white. She knows he's worried about Pacifica and trying to go as fast as he could without risking her or Dipper's lives in the attempt to get there. She can hear him muttering a prayer under his breath- she doesn't ever recall him praying before save for once and that was to Paul Bunion. This time she doesn't hear that name. He slips in and out of English going to languages she only vaguely recognizes._

 _"...por favor que sea ella está bien... por favor, que sea ella está bien..."_

Please... let her be okay, _Mabel begs._

 _As they pull up to the hospital Mabel finds herself wanting to jump out of the car before it even stops, but her brother's hand stops her. Only when they're parked does he let go so they can get out of the car and charge toward the hospital doors._

 _Stanley runs beside them and finds the waiting room with almost too much ease. Gideon is sitting in a chair in the corner with his blue eyes distant and looking oddly disheveled. He doesn't even take notice of them until they're mere feet from each other._

 _"How was she?" Mabel asks._

 _Gideon shakes his head. "I don't know... she wasn't... I don't-"_

 _"Calm down, kid," Stanley says while putting a hand on his shoulder. "What happened?"_

 _Gideon takes several breaths before he answers with a quivering voice, "Ah found her in the woods with a dead body- she had blood all over 'er and she didn't say anything at all... Ah don't think she even_ blinked _on the way here..."_

 _Mabel whimpers quietly hearing that her cousin for all intents and purposes had to go through... whatever exactly transpired. Dipper's hand automatically finds hers and she squeezes it out of habit to comfort her and she desperately grasps onto it._

 _Stanley grimaces hearing that- her first kill. A traumatic experience and for someone as young as Gideon; to see the aftermath of something so brutal._ No wonder...

 _Stanley puts a hand on the kid's shoulder. "It's okay, kid."_

 _"N-no it's not," Gideon whimpers. "She's hurt... sh-she's not doing well... if I-"_

 _"You could've only done so much. You're just a kid- you couldn't have done anything to prevent this," Stanley says firmly._

Me on the other hand... _He knows he could've done something to prevent this. He could've kept a better eye on her, done his best to take care of the situation before it got out of hand..._ something. _But he failed her as her guardian and he hated himself for it._

 _Gideon found little comfort in his business rival's words and fiddles with his fingers._

 _Mabel and Dipper awkwardly look to their grunkle to help with the younger boy. The awkwardness of the situation had to be broken somehow and with Gideon's previous infatuation with Mabel it might come off as her giving him another chance if she were the on to comfort him and... well Dipper wasn't a god option in any case._

 _Not that that matters anyway._ _Stanley hates seeing Gideon like this. Sure he was ruthless and had done his best to destroy his family (aside from Mabel) for almost an entire summer but he was still a_ child _. So he had it in his heart to comfort the kid._

 _"Don't beat yourself up over it, kid," Stanley says as he pats the kid's shoulder. "She'll be fine."_

 _"You didn't see how she looked when I found her," Gideon insists, shivering at the memory of her glazed eyes and the blood on her clothes and skin._

 _She had the same shell-shocked look in her eyes that some of the prisoners that came in got when something bad happened and even though he was well protected being a child that didn't mean he didn't see or hear some horrors in there. Even if he hadn't experienced it, he'd seen it enough._

 _With a sigh Stanley sits next to Gideon and comfortingly rubs his back. "Give it time..."_

 _"What do we do now?"_

 _"... we wait."_

 _Gideon frowns- that doesn't seem right... during times like this he remembers something different... but only vaguely. He hadn't seen his family effected in such a way since he was very young._

 _"We pray."_

 _Gideon looks up at his father who'd managed to catch up. Buddy walks over and settles down in the chair to Gideon's other side._

 _Stanley shifts uncomfortably at the mention of prayer- he had mixed feelings on the idea of praying to some being that he couldn't be sure was there. He preferred tangible things for reassurance on most things... however for things like this he'd often find himself resorting to prayers._

 _"Pray?" Gideon questions, raising an eyebrow at his daddy._

 _"Well, it's about the only thing we can do... words have power y'know. Even if you don't believe," Buddy insists, glancing over at Stanley as he says that last part._

 _Stanley's gaze sweeps to the side and he looks at his niblings. They seem willing to do about anything to help their cousin... and he didn't blame them. He could think of many times his prayers, whispered in fervent desperation were answered._

 _"Let's pray," he finally says._

* * *

HAT: Guess who's not dead!~

Stan: Who're you?

HAT: You know me!

Stan:*squints and scratches his head*

Hat:...

Stan: *grins* I'm just kiddin'! Welcome back, kid.

HAT: Thanks! I'll be rambling so you can go ahead and take a break.

Stan: Alright... *grumbles* not like I ain't taken a really long one.

HAT: I HEARD THAT!

Stan: You were meant to!

HAT: *rolls eyes* Anyway... It's been over a year since I've updated this story- I didn't even realize that much time had passed. I'm sorry. I have been very busy, adult life definitely doesn't give as much free time and there is no summer vacation and to try and have a little bit of a social life outside of work... yeah there's just been no time and very little inspiration for this story until about... now and there's no guarantee that this'll get updated anytime soon after this chapter. I just want to let you know I still have the intention to complete this. On that note. Stan!

Stan: Review!

HAT: *waves* See ya when I see ya!


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